Brady to join Fox Sports when playing career ends
NEW YORK » Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady will join Fox Sports as its lead football analyst once his playing career ends, the network said Tuesday.
When that actually happens is unclear, because Brady recently changed his mind about retiring and said he plans to continue playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his 23rd NFL season.
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch made the announcement during a corporate investor call on Tuesday.
“Over the course of this long-term agreement, Tom will not only call our biggest NFL games with Kevin Burkhardt, he will also serve as an ambassador for us, particularly with respect to client and promotional initiatives,” Murdoch said.
Murdoch said it’s “entirely up to” Brady when he decides to retire from football and join Fox. Brady led the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title following the 2020 season
and NFC South championship last season. He teamed with coach Bill Belichick to win six Super Bowls during 20 seasons with the New England Patriots.
Fox recently lost its top football announcers, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, to ESPN. It replaced Buck with Burkhardt.
Murdoch offered no other details on the deal.
Nickelodeon to broadcast XMas game
Call it a slime-time matchup: The NFL game on Christmas Day between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams will be broadcast by Nickelodeon.
The network, which previously televised two playoff games, and CBS will handle TV duties on Dec. 25 at 4:30 p.m. EST. The Super Bowl champion Rams will host the game, which also will be streamed by Paramount+.
Nickelodeon has had success with its youth-oriented telecasts during wild-card weekend alongside the NFL broadcast on CBS. This season, that collaboration will shift to the regular season and Christmas Day. It’s expected to be part of a holiday tripleheader.
Another twist in the schedule, which will be released in full on Thursday night, will have a doubleheader on the second Monday night of the schedule — with an overlap. On Sept. 19, the Tennessee Titans will be at the Buffalo Bills for a 7:15 p.m. EDT kickoff. At 8:30 p.m., the Minnesota Vikings take on the Eagles in Philadelphia. Usually, any Monday night doubleheader has had one game at a time.
Previously announced were the international games:
• Nov. 13, the first regularseason NFL game in Germany, Tampa Bay vs. Seattle in Munich.
• Oct. 9, Green Bay becomes the final team to play in Europe, facing the Giants at the home of Premier League soccer team Tottenham in London. The previous week, Minnesota plays New Orleans there.
• Oct. 30, Wembley Stadium will host the Broncos against the Jaguars.
• Nov. 21, San Francisco and Arizona at Mexico City.
The season will kick off Thursday, Sept. 8, presumably with the champion Rams as host.
Heyward gets Good Guy Award
Pittsburgh Steelers AllPro defensive tackle Cameron Heyward has been selected as the 2022 Good Guy Award winner by the Professional Football Writers of America.
Heyward, the 18th Good
Guy Award winner, is the second member of the Steelers franchise to get the award, joining Jerome Bettis, who won the inaugural honor in 2005. The award is given to an NFL player for his qualities and professional style in helping pro football writers do their jobs.
Heyward did not miss a media availability during the 2021 season, and those who covered the Steelers noted he doesn’t avoid answering tough questions. He was cited for consistently going “above and beyond’’ to build an honest rapport with those who cover the team.
“We give out the Chief Award — named after team patriarch Art Rooney — for cooperation with the media every year, and it got to the point where we had to alter the rules to not allow backto-back winners,” said PFWA Pittsburgh chapter president Mark Kaboly of The Athletic. “If not, Cam Heyward would’ve won every award since. Instead, he’s won a record three in a span of eight seasons.”