Tom Brady will make more money talking about NFL games than playing in them, it appears.
FOX Sports announced Tuesday that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback will join the network as its lead NFL analyst "immediately" after he's done playing. Brady is committed to playing for the Bucs in 2022 but is on a one-year contract, so we could see him in the broadcast booth with play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt as soon as 2023.
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It's a somewhat surprising move for the seven-time Super Bowl champion -- but FOX is making it worth his while and then some.
Brady's contract with FOX is for 10 years and $375 million, The New York Post's Andrew Marchand reported Tuesday. That eye-popping $37.5 million-per-year figure is easily the richest in sports TV history and nearly double the annual salaries of Troy Aikman and Tony Romo, who each make about $18 million per year, according to Marchand.
(Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports initially reported Brady's deal would pay him between $20 million and $25 million per year over at least five years.)
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How much is $370 million, you ask? For context, Brady has earned about $293 million over his entire NFL playing career to date.
The 44-year-old never inked a deal worth more than $72 million total during his two-decade tenure with the New England Patriots, often taking pay cuts and restructuring his contract to help the team build a Super Bowl contender around him.
Brady signed a two-year, $50 million deal with the Bucs in 2020 but will make "only" $15 million in 2022 on a restructured contract with Tampa Bay.
Those who saw the publicly-guarded version of Brady in New England probably didn't envision him pursuing a career in sports media. But earning $37.5 million a year to call one football game a week is pretty good work if you can get it.