Get ready for another decade with Tom Brady. It was announced this week that Brady reached an agreement with Fox Sports to be the networks lead analyst for 10 years. The arrangement will begin when Brady decides to retire from the Tampa Bay Bucs. It has been reported that he will be paid $37.5 million dollars a year over his 10 year stint in the booth.
Fox has history of making big splashes since its inception in 1993. That was when Rupert Murdoch swiped John Madden from CBS and paid him $8 million, more than any NFL player at the time, to be Fox’s lead analyst.
Fox must have felt it had to make a big move after losing its top announcing team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to ESPN. When Brady finally calls it a career in the NFL, he will team up with play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt.
Tom Brady
Being the greatest quarterback of all time does not mean one will become a must-listen on football broadcasts. Another all-time great quarterback, Drew Brees, made his debut in the booth last year after retirement and NBC reportedly is already looking at other options.
There is no telling what type of analyst Brady will be, but he is the greatest quarterback of all time. The NFL is said to have wanted Fox to go for a big play, not run some conservative offense.
Talent-wise, Brady will be compared to fellow quarterback, Tony Romo. CBS shocked the sports media world last year when they paid Romo $18 million annually. Fox doubled down on Brady.
The question has to be asked. Will viewers tune in to listen to Brady. Romo was an immediate hit with his knowledge and ability to predict upcoming plays. He also has the skills to pass knowledge off to fans in layman’s terms. Brady obviously has the same knowledge but will he be able to share it with the average fan.
Speaking of the average fan, will the average fan want to listen to Brady for three-plus hours. Many fans root against Brady. Others respect his accomplishments while also rooting against him. Others are envious. And of course, he has a loyal allegiance of fans who will follow him everywhere.
Back to the money. Fox will be paying someone who has never called a football game in his life $375 million dollars over a ten year span. That figure is slightly higher than the $333 million Brady has made over his 23-year playing career.
We actually may get a glimpse of how this will work out before Brady ends his time as a quarterback. While Brady’s Fox Sports contract does not start until after his playing career, let’s say Tampa is eliminated from the playoffs. Fox would likely have Brady jump in the booth for postseason games. After all, Fox has the Super Bowl two of the next three years, including this coming February.
Bottom line. Brady is going to be on your TV every Sunday during football seasons for quite some time.
