Report: Tom Brady set to become highest paid TV analyst with Fox Sports

As expected, Tom Brady is getting a huge deal with Fox Sports when he officially becomes the network’s lead analyst.

Brady is set to earn between $20 million and $25 million per year to partner with Kevin Burkhardt as Fox’s No. 1 analyst, according to Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy. That means his salary will be more than Tony Romo at CBS and Troy Aikman at ESPN. It’s also expected to be a long-term deal, meaning it could wind up being upward of $200 million when all is said and done.

The deal doesn’t kick in until Brady retires from the NFL — whenever that might be. He flirted with retirement this year before ultimately coming back to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to chase another Super Bowl title.

Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch announced Brady’s pending hiring on an earnings call Tuesday morning.

“We are pleased to announce that immediately following his playing career, 7-time Super Bowl Champion Tom Brady will be joining us at FOX Sports as our lead analyst,” Murdoch said in a statement. “Over the course of this long-term agreement, Tom will not only call our biggest NFL games with Kevin Burkhardt, but will also serve as an ambassador for us, particularly with respect to client and promotional initiatives.

“We are delighted that Tom has committed to joining the Fox team and wish him all the best during this upcoming season.”

Tom Brady hiring just one part of wild NFL television free agency carousel this offseason

Fox’s booth saw some major changes this offseason as Aikman and Joe Buck both left for ESPN to become the new Monday Night Football team. The network then promoted Kevin Burkhardt to replace Buck, but still hasn’t named a new lead analyst for 2022. After FOX announced the Brady news, the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand speculated Greg Olsen remains the favorite to replace Aikman until Brady hangs up his cleats.

The deal has been in the works for some time. Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand reported FOX and Brady began negotiations shortly after Aikman left Fox for ESPN — which happened while Brady was initially retired.

Following the announcement, Brady retweeted the Fox Sports statement with a thought of his own about his next journey.

“Excited, but a lot of unfinished business on the field with the @Buccaneers #LFG,” Brady tweeted.

The main question is now when Brady will eventually retire. He’s 44 years old, but sure didn’t look like it last year as he led the NFL in passing yards. The joke has been that he could play until he’s 50 — and he didn’t exactly rule that out last month.