For the second straight year, Tom Brady has retired from the NFL. This time, he did so on his own terms with his own farewell video, and given how the Bucs season ended with a thud against the Cowboys in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, it certainly feels like this one will stick.
The second part of Brady’s career in football is already known, as he inked a 10-year, $375 million deal to become FOX’s next top NFL game analyst last year for whenever he steps away for good. When Brady announced his retirement, the expectation was he’d step into the booth this fall, but it seems Brady will take a year away from football before he jumps into the TV world, telling Colin Cowherd on Monday that he and FOX have decided he’ll make his debut in 2024.
.@TomBrady tells @ColinCowherd on @FS1 that he will start his broadcast career with FOX in the Fall of 2024. pic.twitter.com/rckDnIVeQO
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) February 6, 2023
That means one more year of Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen in the lead booth on FOX before Brady takes over, as Burkhardt and Olsen became a fan favorite this year after being thrust into the top spot after Troy Aikman and Joe Buck left for ESPN. Those two will handle Super Bowl coverage next week, and get one more year before FOX has to shuffle things around with Brady set to take center stage.
For Brady, it gives him a year away from football to get settled in life away from the field before diving into his new career at age 46.