View the original article to see embedded media.
Earlier this offseason, Tom Brady announced that he would make a foray into broadcasting after his playing days came to an end and signed a humongous deal with Fox Sports. According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, the seven-time Super Bowl champion agreed to a 10-year, $375 million contract with the network, earning him an average of $37.5 million annually.
The historic, super-sized deal drew the attention of many around the sports world, but not everyone thought the investment in Brady was a wise one. The latest to question Fox’s mammoth offer was Michelle Beadle.
Speaking to former ESPN anchor Bob Ley on her What Did I Miss? podcast, Beadle addressed Brady’s deal to become the lead NFL analyst for Fox, calling the dollar amount “asinine.”
“The $375 million media deal that Tom Brady – that is asinine,” Beadle said. “I mean, I don’t even know what that dude’s ever said that has made me go ‘huh, I can’t wait to hear more of that.’ But $375 million?”
Ley didn’t take his comments quite as far as Beadle, but made the point that no broadcaster was capable of bringing significantly more viewers to a game.
“The person hasn’t been born that will drive, consistently over time, that will drive you to watch a sporting event,” he said.
Beadle agreed with that point, joking that even the most absurd broadcast she could think of wouldn’t be worth $375 million.
“George Clooney could be naked, juggling, talking about football and I’m still not gonna be like, ‘yup, that was worth $375 million,’” Beadle added. “By the way that was a weird call for Clooney naked, maybe [Chris] Hemsworth, maybe we’re more in Hemsworth territory now.”
Nevertheless, Brady reportedly stands to cash in when he decides to swap his helmet out for a headset and join the NFL on Fox broadcast booth. Fox executive chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch said it’s “entirely up to” Brady when he decides to permanently retire from football and join the network. The 44-year-old quarterback himself made clear on Twitter that his primary focus for the 2022 season remains on the field with the Buccaneers.
Although that may be the case, it might not be long until Brady is calling games on NFL Sundays.
