Prior to playing his final NFL season last fall, Tom Brady inked a lucrative, 10-year deal with Fox to become the network’s leading NFL analyst following his retirement. But, according to a recent report from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, the future Hall of Fame quarterback may be re-considering his options as he settles into his life after football.
In the three months since Brady announced his second (and final) retirement, the legendary QB had largely stayed out of the spotlight throughout his first official post-career offseason. That was until Wednesday, however, when Marchand provided an update on the latest news concerning Brady’s eventual arrival at Fox.
Back in February, Brady announced he would join the network in the fall of 2024 after taking a hiatus from the sport, though Marchand revealed on his podcast that there remains skepticism about the decision. After initially noting there was a 51% chance Brady would join Fox, Marchand said he would now lower the odds to 49%, citing the 45-year-old’s relationship with his kids and ex-wife Gisele Bundchen and his desire to work longer days than former Fox and current ESPN commentators Joe Buck and Troy Aikman as key factors.
“I’ve talked to a couple of people recently close to Brady and I kind of feel like I’m going more 49 percent chance he does it, 51 percent chance he doesn’t,” said Marchand, who added the number is still “fluctuating.” “I don’t think he wants to travel that much. … I think Brady’s a guy who if he’s in, he’s all in. So he’s not going to be showing up day of games like Joe Buck and Aikman do sometimes. He’s going to be there early if he’s going to do it, so it’s a four-day event. … You know, he shares his kids with Gisele. I think that’s very important to him, and he can make money elsewhere.”
CLIP: Brady Meter to call Fox games moves to 49-51
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) May 3, 2023
POD: https://t.co/GRXSlndqUx pic.twitter.com/hYtPVz90aL
It remains to be seen if Brady ultimately backs out of the commitment, but the news in Marchand’s report figures to add plenty of intrigue surrounding the soon-to-be 46-year-old’s moves in the months to come. If Brady were to walk away from Fox, the seven-time Super Bowl champion would be leaving behind a 10-year, $375 million contract he signed in May 2022.
