Tom Brady has yet to go back on his second NFL retirement, but as the league prepares for training camp, the former New England Patriots quarterback’s broadcasting career remains unclear.
The 45-year-old reportedly signed a 10-year contract with FOX last May, and he was expected to take Greg Olsen’s position as lead color analyst and join Kevin Burkhardt. But Brady is not expected to debut until the 2024 season, yet there is sentiment within the industry that doubts fans will see the future Hall of Fame quarterback in the booth.
There still is speculation that Brady unretires a second time to sign with the Miami Dolphins, but the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller also has multiple other endeavors on which he’s focused, which is why people aren’t so sure Brady makes the transition into a broadcaster.
The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand also was one of those people that wasn’t confident Brady would make the leap.
“It fluctuates. It was at 51% he’s going to do it to 49%, with the reasoning, it’s so much money, he’ll try it for a year,” Marchand said on “The Marchand & Ourand Sports Media Podcast” on Wednesday. “However, I talked to a couple people, recently, close to Brady. And I kind of feel like I’m going more 49% chance he does it, 51% chance he doesn’t. I don’t think he wants to travel that much. Obviously, he’s going to go private.
“And Brady’s a guy if he’s in, he’s all in, so he’s not going to be showing up day of games like Joe Buck and (Troy) Aikman do sometimes. He’s going to be there early if he’s going to do it so four-day event. Again, cry me a river, for that type of money for five and a half months. But he shares kids with Gisele Bündchen. I think that’s very important to him, and he can make money elsewhere. … “
The money would be tough to walk away from for anybody, but Brady still is a huge name in sports, so it’s unlikely he’ll be struggling to find opportunities on large platforms. The question seems to be whether or not Brady wants to commit so much time to a broadcasting career after over two decades playing in the NFL What is clear is this won’t be the last fans will hear about Brady’s potential future in the broadcast booth.
