Tom Brady gave viewers their first look of his Fox broadcast future on Sunday during the UFL championship game. The seven-time Super Bowl–winning quarterback gave a few anodyne football takes, like the need for teams to move the ball forward instead of sideways. He presented the MVP trophy to Adrian Martinez after the former Nebraska and Kansas State QB led the Birmingham Stallions to a 25–0 championship win.
Brady first signed a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox back in May 2022, but then he took a “gap year” that fueled intense speculation about whether he would ever actually go into broadcasting. He’s set to join the network’s No. 1 NFL crew in September. He’ll be paired with Kevin Burkhardt, taking the spot of former tight end Greg Olsen, a three-time Pro Bowler who has spent two seasons in the top seat. Olsen won an Emmy Award last month and said on Front Office Sports Today that he still wants to be a No. 1 analyst, whether that’s at Fox or another network.
The Patriots inducted Brady into their Hall of Fame on June 12, a date representing the six championships he won with the team and his No. 12 jersey. Not only was his number retired, but team owner Robert Kraft also said a 12-foot statue of Brady is coming sometime this season. Four days later, he was in St. Louis getting booed by former Rams fans—still sore over Super Bowl XXXVI and its association with the Patriots’ videotaping scandal—as he presented the MVP trophy.
Brady’s gap year included visiting Fox studios, dining with execs, and picking the brains of top analysts.
“I believe I can provide a pretty unique perspective that I think a lot of people will really like. It’s going to be a lot of hard work. It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Brady told FOS earlier this year.
