There wasn’t much FitzMagic on this welcome to TV moment.
Ryan Fitzpatrick realized the truth of retirement shortly after he called it a profession following 17 seasons in June 2022.
The Prime Video NFL analyst was referring to the time when he was sent to the Chargers’ facility to interview quarterback Justin Herbert on his first media project ahead of the 2022-23 season.
“I believe back to last 12 months, the primary interview that I needed to do,” Fitzpatrick, 41, recalled in an interview with The Post on behalf of Amazon and Rivian, the E-commerce company’s fleet of 10,000 electric delivery vans.
“Our first [‘TNF’] game was Kansas City and the Chargers. I flew out to L.A., I used to be going to consult with Justin Herbert for somewhat bit — talked to him for quarter-hour and got a two-minute piece.
“I just remember sitting outside the Chargers facility hoping to be let within the doors. And I used to be like, ‘Okay, I’m officially not a player anymore. I’m officially an outsider. That was my welcome to TV and media. After which Justin Herbert wasn’t very talkative either, so it wasn’t a really successful interview.”
Since then, Fitzpatrick has brought his eccentric personality to the sidelines on “TNF” — including going shirtless in freezing Buffalo after the Bills beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 24-18, on Oct. 26.
“But, you realize, since then, I’ve got to sit down down with a few of my good buddies, [Bills quarterback] Josh Allen and people have gone a lot better,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick has a recent appreciation for “every little thing that goes in behind the scenes to make it such a successful production” at Amazon.
“It’s definitely different,” he said about being “on the opposite side of it now,” where his weeks throughout the NFL season are centered around traveling to different cities to cover games and making it back home in time to attend one among his seven kids’ sporting events.
The Harvard alum and his wife Liza (née Barber) live in Arizona with their three boys and 4 girls starting from ages 4 to 16 — right round the corner to his brother, Shaun, and his five children.
“My two oldest two are 16 and 14, they usually’re not very blissful now that they will’t have their father on their fantasy team,” Fitzpatrick said, laughing. “But we’ve moved on from that.
“My daughters are 12, 10, eight and 6 after which my youngest son is 4. That’s been the eye-opening thing for me with my daughters, they’re super interested by [football] they usually were all born in numerous cities, so they beautiful much all root for various teams.
“Most of my family leans toward the Bills, but my daughter, Zoey, for example, has taken an enormous interest within the Texans because she was born in Houston. She’s an enormous C.J. Stroud fan.”
Fitzpatrick saw his justifiable share of cities after he was chosen within the seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft by the then-St. Louis Rams.
He went on to play for nine teams across 17 seasons, including the Cincinnati Bengals, Bills, Tennessee Titans, Houston Texans, Jets, Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Washington.
Fitzpatrick is the one quarterback in NFL history to win a game with seven or more different teams (Miami, Tampa Bay, Latest York Jets, Buffalo, Houston, Cincinnati, Tennessee), per NFL.com.
In 17 seasons, he began 147 games, throwing for 34,990 yards and 223 touchdowns with 169 interceptions.
“The cool part about that is, there’s less stress involved,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s different because as a player, despite the fact that you’re home, sometimes you’re not actually home — you’re attempting to be home, you are trying to be present, but there’s all the time you’re occupied with, whether it’s the following game and the sport plan.
“Now, I get to be home on a regular basis and it’s loads of fun … So I believe in turn it’s lots less stressful for my wife than it’s than it was once I was playing.
“For instance, last 12 months we had a few weeks off of college, so my kids got to come back with me to Chicago (for a Bears game) and we spent the week in town. They got to be an element of my world, and once I played, I attempted to do this as much as I could, but there was all the time the stress of the job and the duty and the meetings and the things that I needed to do [on the player side of things].
“I can immerse them in a few of that … So for me to have the option to have my family involved in that and be around is that’s a neat a part of the job for me.”
When he’s not working, Fitzpatrick coaches his kids’ basketball teams.
“It’s a lot fun,” he said. “My brother lives round the corner to me and he’s got a basketball court in his backyard. I often find myself with like five teams coaching all different age ranges. That part for me is a very enjoyable a part of the 12 months.”
Along with basketball, his two oldest sons also play football, one among his daughters is “super interested” in flag football and one other enjoys playing soccer.
Fitzpatrick has a superb grasp on his work-life balance.
He tries his best to not miss Wednesday dinners with the Prime Video crew once they all touch down in town they’re scheduled to film in — but is strict about making it home for his kids’ activities.
Fitzpatrick’s routine goes something like this:
“It’s the Wednesday to Friday travel, after which I get back on Friday and still get my kids off the bus most Fridays, in order that’s great,” he said. “To have the option to have the weekends and spend that with them is amazing.
“For me, a straightforward thing on Sunday is with the ability to sit down and watch football with my kids and never just my two older boys, but my daughters as well. To sit down there and have them asking all these cool questions and to have the option to share this game with them that I like a lot.
“They were all the time watching dad or more into the popcorn and whatever else was happening. But that’s been a cool a part of my world that has modified, to have the option to sit down down and watch games with them.”
The family is looking forward to the Super Bowl in February.
Fitzpatrick said he’s sticking along with his original pick at the start of the season, when he said Baltimore and San Francisco will play in Super Bowl LVIII in 2024.
