When he finally hangs up his cleats, Tom Brady will step into the richest contract in sports TV history.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion will make $20 million to $25 million annually to serve as Fox Sports’s No. 1 game analyst with Kevin Burkhardt, sources told Front Office Sports. That will easily take Brady past the $18 million average salaries for Troy Aikman at ESPN and Tony Romo at CBS Sports.
Brady’s deal is also believed to be longer than the typical five years. All told, his pact could reach 10 years and $250 million, estimated sources. By comparison, Aikman’s new deal will pay him over $90 million over five years. Romo’s deal will pay him $180 million over 10 years.
The deal includes ancillary production and marketing elements that could put even more money in Brady’s pocket. The 44-year old quarterback has a global company 199 Productions (named after his selection spot in the 2000 NFL Draft) that’s developing documentaries, TV shows and feature films. He also boasts his TB12 lifestyle brand and an NFT platform dubbed Autograph.
The New York Post pegged Brady’s new deal at 10 years for $375 million.
“Over the course of this long-term agreement, Tom will not only call our biggest NFL games with Kevin Burkhardt, but will also serve as an ambassador for us, particularly with respect to client and promotional initiatives,” noted Fox in a statement
Front Office Sports first reported in February that Fox and other NFL TV partners were prepared to offer the five-time Super Bowl MVP the richest pact in sports history.
Fox will televise two of the next three Super Bowls. So it had to make a dramatic talent move to stay in the good graces of the NFL. Fox was stunned when rival ESPN swooped in to hire both Aikman and Joe Buck for “Monday Night Football.” The league demands marquee talent on the No. 1 announcing teams. Outside of possibly Peyton Manning, there’s no talent bigger than Brady.
After briefly retiring, the three-time MVP announced via social media that he’s returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year for his 23rd NFL season. Including this year, Brady has earned $332 million in on-field salary and bonuses, according to Spotrac.
Fox chief executive officer Lachlan Murdoch announced Brady’s hire during an earnings call Tuesday morning.
Update: Fox issued an additional statement Tuesday afternoon, saying: “What has been reported isn’t an accurate description of the deal and we have not released details beyond what was disclosed on our quarterly earnings call.”
