Brady to join Fox Sports when football career ends

A topsy-turvy offseason for NFL broadcasting took perhaps its most surprising twist Tuesday morning when Fox Corp. Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch announced that Tom Brady will step into the network’s booth when the winningest quarterback of all time retires.

When that happens, of course, is still to be determined. Brady, 44, could play one or several more seasons. But when he hangs up his spikes for good, he will join Kevin Burkhardt in Fox’s lead booth, Murdoch said. If he retires after two more seasons, he would be in line to call a Super Bowl in his first year as an announcer. Fox is set to broadcast two of the next three Super Bowls.

“We are delighted that Tom has committed to joining the Fox team and wish him all the best during this upcoming season,” Murdoch said in a statement Tuesday after announcing the news on a network earnings call.

Murdoch’s announcement is the latest move in a lucrative game of musical chairs for the NFL’s top announcers.

Troy Aikman and Joe Buck jumped from Fox to ESPN to call Monday Night Football earlier this year, for contracts that will pay them around $18 million and $15 million a year, respectively. Al Michaels hopped from NBC to Amazon for its inaugural Thursday Night Football season. He will be joined by ESPN’s top col

Steve Luciano / Associated Press Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is interviewed on the field after Super Bowl 55 against the Kansas City Chiefs, in Tampa, Fla., in 2021.