‘You never know’ – Tom Brady jokes about leaving $375 million contract after just one year as NFL broadcaster
Tom Brady has been a big talking point in this year's NFL playoffs.
The Kansas City Chiefs bidding for an unprecedented Super Bowl three-peat is obviously a huge storyline, but so too is Brady's dual status as a minority owner and NFL broadcaster.
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Much has been made of the legendary quarterback's first year in broadcasting.
Last year, the seven-time Super Bowl winner signed a 10-year deal worth $375 million to be the network's top color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt.
That was complicated somewhat by Brady buying a ten percent stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, leading to all sorts of conflict of interest narratives and strict rules and regulations prohibiting Brady from performing standard broadcaster duties.
Many ultimately believed Brady continuing as both a team owner and commentator was unsustainable, and that eventually he'll be forced to give up one of the roles, perhaps even after the Super Bowl next month.
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However, the man himself cleared things up on Wednesday’s edition of .
The Fox personality jokingly teased the top of the segment as if Brady had a big announcement to make -- his departure from Fox.
Brady sarcastically went along with the joke before making it clear he has no plans to leave the booth after Year 1.
"I don't know where it comes from," Brady said.
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"I know it always says, ‘sources close to Brady,' or whatever. But I've had the best time at Fox. I've loved every time going into the booth and working with such great people, starting with my partner Kevin (Burkhardt)."
“I’ve loved kind of just the whole process and diving into all these different teams. It’s been a lot of growth for me in one year, and I really can’t see –– can’t wait to see what it looks like in year two and way beyond that too.
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“So I got nine years left on my deal, maybe longer. You never know. If Fox wants me and I want to go, we’ll just keep going because it’s been really fun thus far.”
Brady's role as a minority NFL owner, in addition to being the lead commentator for Fox each week, has already caused several issues this season, particularly in the Raiders' search for a new head coach.
Las Vegas held a virtual interview with the former Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for their head coaching position during the Lions' bye week on wild-card weekend.
However, some deemed that problematic given Brady was on the call for the Lions' next game against the Washington Commanders, suggesting the former QB would have an inherent bias towards the Lions as he had a vested interest in keeping Johnson happy.
As it turned out, Brady was praised for his objectivity during the game, and Johnson ultimately went to the Chicago Bears.
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The seven-time Super Bowl champion retired after playing 23 seasons for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He was 45 when he retired, and although he would have loved to have played football for the rest of his life, he knew it was time to call it a day.
“I wish I could have played football my entire life,” Brady told Cowherd. “But 23 years was long enough –– I got tired of taking the hits, and I wanted to spend as much time as I could with the kids. Really, being involved with the Raiders gives me an opportunity to be involved with football for the rest of my life. I really love teamwork, I always have, I love seeing other people succeed.”
TB12's transition into the booth was rocky at first.
He struggled to find the right tone, was accused of being dull, and had a few awkward missteps.
But the NFL GOAT has settled into his new career, balancing the tight rope between being an owner and commentator.
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Brady is not permitted to criticize game officials and other clubs due to his affiliation with the Raiders, but shared his thoughts on the recent controversy involving the Chiefs.
The Chiefs were accused of getting several favorable calls in their divisional round win over the Houston Texans last week, and in particular quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Brady shared his thoughts on the controversial subject with Cowherd.
“Who’s protecting the quarterback? We’re trying to say the referee should do it?” Brady told Cowherd.
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“If you’re running with the ball, you should protect yourself. If you don’t want to get hit, you can go down, you can run out of bounds. But you can’t, in essence, have the defensive player come in at half speed, and then you run over the defensive player because he’s afraid of getting a penalty. I think it’s just a disservice to the game.”
Brady will be the color commentator for Fox during both the upcoming NFC Championship Game -- between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Commanders -- as well as the Super Bowl in New Orleans next month.
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