Tom Brady is ready for his next chapter as he is set to enter the commentary booth after the iconic quarterback signed a blockbuster deal with Fox Sports last year.
On Wednesday, Brady announced his retirement from the NFL after 23 seasons. He won seven Super Bowls over an illustrious career that spanned two decades with the New England Patriots - with whom he led a historic dynasty alongside head coach Bill Belichick and owner Rob Kraft - and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
His 2022 season didn’t exactly go to plan as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were comprehensively defeated 31-14 by the Dallas Cowboys to end his 23rd NFL season at the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs. Brady doffed his cap to fans as he left the field, but the quarterback could yet be in attendance at Super Bowl LVII - just not in a playing capacity.
Last year, Fox Sports announced Brady would join the network as a lead analyst following his retirement after he signed a 10-year contract worth $375 million (£306m). The network were unaware when exactly Brady would retire, but they landed the iconic signal-caller for whenever he decided to walk away from the NFL.
Fox Sports initially thought Brady would join their roster last year after he retired only to sensationally reverse his decision just 40 days later. However, the 45-year-old has been hosting his ‘Let’s Go!’ Podcast on Sirius XM in the meantime to get practice sitting behind the microphone.
Brady could yet attend next weekend’s Super Bowl. Super Bowl LVII will be played at State Farm Stadium in Arizona and Fox - one of the leading networks in the United States - are gearing up for their coverage of the championship game. Fox reportedly created multiple contingency plans to figure out how Brady could appear on their coverage, although they could opt for the seven-time Super Bowl champion to have a gap year of sorts before stepping up to the lead booth.
Plans range from joining the ‘Fox NFL Sunday’ crew during pregame, halftime and postgame show, but he is not expected to join Fox’s leading broadcast team of play-by-play caller Kevin Burkhardt and colour commentator Greg Olsen. However, it certainly shouldn’t be ruled out for Brady to make his broadcast debut during Super Bowl LVII on February 12 when the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs clash for the Lombardi Trophy in Arizona.
Brady will also have a familiar face in the studio at Fox Sports: Rob Gronkowski. The duo won four Super Bowls together, and the former tight end joined the broadcaster as an on-air analyst midway through the 2022 season after opting against a return to the NFL himself.
During a recent episode of his podcast, Brady revealed he was excited to get started at Fox Sports. He said: “There's so much to learn, there's so much to teach, you know, it's ever evolving. Believe me, as much as you think I'm willing to teach people, I'm really looking to learn. I'm really looking to learn from all the people that I get to talk to.
“I get an opportunity to be in a job in the future where I get to travel around and learn from all the other people that I've looked up to and admired, different organisations and different people. So it's exciting for me too. I feel like the opportunity to do that is something that I'm really looking forward to whenever that time comes.”
Brady has claimed he could be ‘scathing’ in the booth and likened himself to renowned golf commentator Johnny Miller. Brady’s revelation of his potential style of commentary would be a stark contrast to popular CBS analyst Tony Romo, who showers praise on quarterbacks and offensive ingenuity with infectious enthusiasm.
