Very few sane fans tune into Sunday afternoon NFL broadcasts regularly to see or hear their favorite announcers — except for Cris Collinsworth’s slide-in intro. The allure for fans is the product on the field, which is why the Redzone Channel is so popular. It’s also the reasoning behind the NFL giving Monday and Sunday Night Football the option to flex games into the primetime slot during the second half of the season.
According to the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, that hasn’t stopped FOX Sports from handing a money bag to Tom Brady, in the neighborhood of 10 years and $375 million, to be their lead NFL analyst whenever he hangs up his jersey. It’s an exorbitant contract for a job calling games that he might not be good at. For all that cash, he could be a bigger bust than Jason Witten or NewsCorp’s gamble on The Magic Hour. Whenever Brady retires, whether it’s in this decade or the next, nothing will justify this lead balloon of a contract. Troy Aikman’s Westworld robot personality walked to ESPN so that Tom Brady could fly.
In Brady’s new role at Fox, he’ll automatically be the face of their NFL coverage. When announcing Brady’s deal, Fox Sports CEO, Lachlan Murdoch said Brady “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.”
The misallocation of resources at these networks for broadcast talent is mind-bogglingly awful. Someday, they’ll learn that paying superstar money to brand name personalities with game manager personalities is akin to wasting first-round picks on a punter. Successful NFL teams understand the value of not overpaying for talent.
NFL lead analyst role is becoming the firmament for retired white quarterbacks. After his first retirement in 2016, the reclusive Jay Cutler was offered a position on Fox’s No. 2 broadcast team but turned it down for a one-year $10 million deal with the Dolphins. In 2020, Tony Romo signed a 10-year, $175 million contract to return to CBS’ No. 1 NFL broadcast duo.
Brady can also relate to retiring before attempting a sneaky move to Miami, but ultimately Fox made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. Everywhere Brady has gone, he’s left behind a toxic mist in his wake. Brady’s career has been a real-life Picture of Dorian Gray. Brady’s moldy personality masks the toxic path he’s taken to reach these heights in his career.
Over the last 20 years, he’s left a mist of scandals in his wake that have made him one of the more polarizing figures in sports. From Deflate-Gate to his conniving attempt to weasel his way to Miami, he’s always done whatever it takes, even if it means crossing immoral lines. These win-at-all-costs maneuvers helped him win Super Bowls, but have pockmarked his legendary career.
He recruited Antonio Brown to the Patriots, then to the Bucs after the Pats released Brown following serious sexual misconduct accusations by two women. Brady took it a step further by allowing Brown to live with him like he was a wayward child instead of a serial predator.
During the most deadly pandemic in the last 100 years, Brady was one of the most visible anti-maskers in the NFL, even after his father nearly became a COVID statistic.
Brady’s fame and talent on the field have allowed him to sidestep his slimeball tendencies. The Murdochs have had no problem employing insurrectionists as long as they bring in the eyeballs. Fox rolled out a red carpet and paid nearly half a billion dollars for an “ambassador” and they’ll have to bite the bullet if this doesn’t pan out