How old is Terry Bradshaw? Age, career timeline for NFL analyst, from Steelers legend to Fox studio
There are few figures in the NFL who have been more ubiquitous throughout the league’s existence than Terry Bradshaw.
Bradshaw, a Steelers legend, broke into the league as the No. 1 pick in the 1970 NFL draft, just a few years after Super Bowl 1 was played. He quickly established himself as a starter for the Steelers and became one of the most notable figures of the early days of the NFL’s Super Bowl era.
But even since retiring from the sport, Bradshaw has decked television sets on Sundays to broadcast it. He has served as a game analyst and primarily as a studio host for multiple networks.
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Now, almost 40 years into his television career, Bradshaw will be attending another Super Bowl. He will present the trophy to the winners of the 2023 Super Bowl and will play a crucial role in Fox’s coverage of the game.
Exactly how old is Bradshaw? Here’s what you need to know about his life and career as he prepares to compete in his 17th combined Super Bowl as player and host.
How old is Terry Bradshaw?
Bradshaw turned 74 just before the start of the 2022 NFL season on September 2. He was an early member of Fox’s NFL Sunday pregame show and has spent his entire broadcast career working alongside Jimmy Johnson and Howie Long.
Bradshaw isn’t the oldest member of Fox NFL Sunday. That award belongs to Johnson, who is 79 years old. The former Cowboys coach turns 80 on July 16, making him just over five years older than Bradshaw.
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Who did Terry Bradshaw play for?
Bradshaw spent his entire 14-year playing career with the Steelers. The team picked him No. 1 in the 1970 NFL Draft after he had a distinguished collegiate career at Louisiana Tech.
During his time with the Steelers, Bradshaw helped lead the team to four Super Bowl victories and was twice named Super Bowl MVP. He had a 107-51 record during the regular season and had an impressive 14-5 record in the postseason.
Bradshaw was named the NFL MVP for the 1978 season. He had 2,915 passing yards, 28 passing touchdowns and 20 league interceptions while leading Pittsburgh to a 14-2 record, the best of his time with the Steelers. Thanks to that performance, he earned his only All-Pro nod and was also named his second of three Pro Bowls.
Overall, Bradshaw completed 51.9 percent of his career passes for 27,989 yards, 212 touchdowns and 210 interceptions. He ranks second all-time in passing yards and touchdowns in Steelers history, behind only Ben Roethlisberger in those categories.
Bradshaw’s numbers might not look great by today’s standards, but the NFL was a ground-dominating league in his playing days. As such, his stats — along with his Super Bowl honors — were good enough for him to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.
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Terry Bradshaw wins the Super Bowl
Bradshaw won four Super Bowls while with the Steelers. As mentioned, he played well enough to win Super Bowl MVP in two of those appearances, but he certainly benefited from playing with the famous “Steel Curtain” defense as well.
Below is a brief summary of all of Bradshaw’s Super Bowl wins:
Super Bowl 9: Steelers 16, Vikings 6
Bradshaw’s first Super Bowl victory was largely due to an outstanding defensive performance by the Steelers and a dominant running game. Pittsburgh gave up just six points in the game, and it came from a blocked punt. The Steel Curtain held off Fran Tarkenton while Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier totaled 223 yards and a touchdown on 51 carries.
Bradshaw wasn’t asked to do much in the game thanks to Pittsburgh’s dominance on the ground. He completed 9 of 14 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown while adding 33 yards on five carries. Harris was named the game’s MVP after scoring the team’s first touchdown — a game winner — on a 9-yard run in the third quarter.
Super Bowl 10: Steelers 21, Cowboys 17
In Super Bowl 10, Bradshaw again completed just nine passes. Still, the Steelers were able to pull off a four-point win thanks to a 14-point offense in the fourth quarter.
Bradshaw had 209 yards and two touchdowns despite only completing nine passes. Part of that was thanks to a 64-yard score he threw to Lynn Swann to seal the win in Pittsburgh.
There’s no doubt Bradshaw had more of an impact in the Super Bowl 10 win, but Swann ended up being an easy pick for MVP. He caught four of Bradshaw’s nine shots and converted them into a whopping 161 yards and the aforementioned touchdown. He had catches of 12, 32, 53 and 64 during the contest.
Super Bowl 13: Steelers 35, Cowboys 31
It took Pittsburgh a few years to return to the Super Bowl after back-to-back wins, but the Steelers returned to the big game in 1979 to determine the 1978 NFL champion. Bradshaw had his best performance in the shootout win.
Bradshaw completed 17 of 30 passes for 318 yards, four touchdowns and one interception during the contest. His dominance in the air helped offset Harris’ 68-yard streak on 20 carries as well as Pittsburgh’s efforts to contain the Cowboys on defense.
Bradshaw was named MVP for his efforts in the competition, in which he gave the Steelers a 35-17 lead in the fourth quarter before Dallas made a late push to get back in. His four touchdown passes alone stood as a Super Bowl record until Doug Williams tied him in 1988 and Joe Montana broke him with five in 1990.
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Super Bowl 14: Steelers 31, Rams 19
Bradshaw and the Steelers capped their dominant run by winning Super Bowl 14 and becoming two-time champions again. The veteran quarterback’s passing numbers were productive on this occasion, but he threw three interceptions in the big game after catching just one in his previous three Super Bowls.
Still, Bradshaw completed 14 of 21 passes for 309 yards and two touchdowns while leading a second-half comeback with two explosive passes against Swann (47 yards) and John Stallworth (73 yards). That was enough for him to win his second Super Bowl MVP in his penultimate postseason game with the Steelers.
Bradshaw retired as a career leader in Super Bowl wins with four. That total was later equalized by Joe Montana and surpassed by Tom Brady, who has seven. Bradshaw is second overall with Montana to date.
When did Terry Bradshaw start broadcasting?
Bradshaw became a broadcaster shortly after ending his NFL career. He only played one game during the 1983 season before feeling a pop in the elbow that effectively forced him into retirement the following offseason.
Bradshaw officially retired in July 1984. Shortly thereafter, he signed with CBS and became Verne Lundquist’s in-booth analyst. He had previously worked as a guest commentator at CBS, so the move was natural.
Eventually, Bradshaw was brought into the studio to co-host The NFL Today with Greg Gumbel. The duo worked together in that capacity from 1990 to 1993, until Bradshaw made the jump to Fox as the network expanded its sports offering.
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Bradshaw has been part of Fox NFL Sunday since 1994. He, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson have been with the program since its inception, with Bradshaw arguably the biggest celebrity to engage the program to date.
Bradshaw continues to be a staple of Fox’s NFL coverage and will present the Lombardi Trophy to the Chiefs or Eagles once the 2023 Super Bowl winner is determined.