broadcaster

Tom Brady is set to join the Fox broadcasting booth in 2024. However, reports surfaced on May 5 that Brady was starting to have second thoughts about the 10-year deal he had signed. Initially reported by the New York Post, Brady allegedly voiced concerns about the travel involved with doing the job full-time. Unlike a remote broadcast such as ESPN‘s ManningCast, Brady would be a full-time, on-site color commentator. That would require a minimum of four days of travel a week during the season. Brady’s contract with Fox is reportedly worth $375 million.

However, Tom Brady has never been to take media speculation lying down. He made that clear when putting various reporters on blast during his prolonged retirement saga. True to form, Brady has hit back at the Post‘s claims that he might be about to walk out on his lucrative broadcast deal.

Brady Dismisses Walk-Out Rumors

As part of the media cycle prompted by the New York Post bombshell, Sports Illustrated published an image explaining the situation on Instagram. Brady took to the social media platform, commenting “FakeNews” on Sports Illustrated‘s post. Furthermore, sources told TMZ that Brady was already beginning preparations for this broadcast role, despite being over a year away from taking to the booth. While Brady had the option to start in 2023, he chose to defer a year to focus on “other parts of my life that need some time and energy”.

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It’s a blow to the already shaky credibility of the New York Post. The Post has a reputation as a right-wing outlet prone to sensationalism. Another comment seen on the Sports Illustrated Instagram post reads “Lol from one of the most unreliable sources”. Prior to working at the Post, Marchand was a reporter for ESPN. Earlier in the week, another member of the Post‘s sports team abruptly deleted a tweet claiming that Aaron Rodgers and Sauce Gardner had spent seven hours at dinner together. However, it’s clear that the rumors Brady was reconsidering his broadcasting future are unfounded.

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Prior to his two retirements, Tom Brady signed a 10-year, $375 million deal to broadcast the NFL on Fox once his playing career was over. After retiring, un-retiring, playing a miserable 2022 season, and re-retiring, the start of the broadcast deal was pushed to 2024. This would allow Brady to enjoy a full season without football before taking on the heavy commitment of at least a decade of broadcasting.

Broadcasting has long been an avenue that professional athletes pursue after their playing career. Additionally, broadcasters have found great success with the likes of the Manning Brothers’ Monday Night Football show. “The Manningcast” has been a smash hit for ESPN. However, in yet more bad news for Fox as an entity, Brady might not be 100% on his deal.

Brady Beginning To Hedge On Fox Deal

According to the New York Post‘s Andrew Marchand, Brady might not go through with the broadcasting deal at all. Having spoken to sources close to Brady, Marchand claims that the legendary QB is having second thoughts about the ten-year commitment to Fox. One of the biggest issues for Brady is reportedly the travel commitment for the job. As Brady wouldn’t want to do it for “anything less than 100%”, that would mean four days of travel a week. That is opposed to only traveling for game days on a less stringent schedule. This differs greatly to the ManningCast, which is done remotely by Peyton and Eli.

This commitment comes at a time when Brady is building a post-divorce life. He very publicly separated from his wife Gisele Bündchen during the season. Brady now shares custody of the children he had with Bündchen. Given that it was Brady’s decision to return to football in 2022 that reportedly ended his marriage, he may not be keen to jeopardize his family’s future further with more commitment to football. Fox‘s football broadcasting is currently led by former NFL tight end Greg Olsen. He has helmed the network’s broadcast since 2021. Prior to that, Olesen did bye-week work for them in the final years of his career. Brady has not officially pulled out of his contract. However, if Marchand’s reporting is true, that could be something we see announced in the coming weeks and months.

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