Fox disputes reporting regarding Tom Brady’s contract

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A couple of companies owned by Rupert Murdoch apparently are at odds over the specifics of Tom Brady‘s broadcasting deal with Fox.

Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, a publication owned by Murdoch’s News Corp., reported on Tuesday that Fox will pay Brady $375 million on a 10-year deal that commences when he retires from playing football. Via Marchand, a Fox spokesman has generally taken issue with the accuracy of the reporting regarding Brady’s deal.

“What has been reported isn’t an accurate description of the deal and we have not released details beyond what was disclosed on our quarterly earnings call,” Fox corporate spokesman Brian Nick said.

Although Marchand points out that Nick didn’t specify the inaccuracy, three guesses don’t seem to be needed. Or two.

The only details reported about the Brady deal were the duration and value. Thus, if Fox says what’s been reported isn’t an accurate description of the deal, the statement necessarily is disputing Marchand’s reporting.

Marchand writes that his sources have reiterated the details he reported. The bigger point is that a pair of Murdoch-owned companies aren’t on the same page about the dollars to be paid to Murdoch’s newest employee, eventually.

29 responses to “Fox disputes reporting regarding Tom Brady’s contract

  1. There’s a couple other things it could be besides the length and duration. It could be that he will not be on the #1 team. Also, it’s possible that it won’t start immediately after retirement, perhaps he takes a gap year.

    I know both are unlikely, but just saying there are other things.

  2. Who cares if the publications are owned by the same person? At least one outlet (The Post) is trying to find out the truth.

  3. Not surprised at all. Even Tommy himself says 80% of everything he says is a lie.

  4. Clearly one of if not the greatest QB of all time. But every time I hear him in an interview, he just comes across as a boring guy to me. Maybe he comes into his own as a color analyst, but the best word to describe my reaction to him in the booth is indifference.

  5. It’s only fitting that 2 entities owned by Murdoch are at odds with each other.
    One or both of them are lying. Does anyone think that between Fox & the NY Post there even a small morsel of truth?

  6. It is not a real ‘dispute’, it is simply because listed companies like Fox have a strict obligation to report material new financial information to the market. Because this didn’t happen they have to dispute it or be guilty of a legal infraction.

  7. Don’t pis off your future cash cow by being petty about the details in the public.

  8. This is an internal problem at Fox. Basically, Tucker is pissed that Brady will be making more than he does.

  9. This is all crazy! I’ll tune in to a game if the games good and entertaining… the commentary doesn’t decide for me if I watch something or not. Please don’t waste money like this and pass the expenses on to us consumers with another subscription.

  10. Maybe it’s just me, but I watch football for the football, not the announcers. I’m excited to watch Chiefs/Bills or Rams/Bucs, I don’t give a second thought as to who’s announcing the game. That being said, some announcers are certainly better than others, but not to the extent it’s going to affect what I watch.

  11. This deal is going to blow up for Fox and Brady and when he catches wind of his (and the TB12 brand) Q measure taking a hit he’ll bail. He stopped being Tom Brady years ago.

  12. Is Fox quibbling because it’s embarrassed? It shouldn’t be. Yeah, it’s a boatload of money, but we fans have become inured to big numbers. More importantly, Brady will be a huge draw. He will prepare for his new gig as he did for the (fill in the blank) years he played. He simply will not allow himself to be less than his best. His insights from his playing days and his countless hours of reviewing film will be invaluable. He well could become the GOAT analyst. When he takes his spot in the booth, the viewership for Fox games will explode. The network got a bargain.

  13. >>>Maybe it’s just me, but I watch football for the football, not the announcers. I’m excited to watch Chiefs/Bills or Rams/Bucs, I don’t give a second thought as to who’s announcing the game. That being said, some announcers are certainly better than others, but not to the extent it’s going to affect what I watch.<<<

    Well said. Couldn't agree more. If you're watching the game you can see for yourself what's happening. Who cares what the announcer says? You don't have announcers and analysts when sitting in the stands at the game. Radio is another story and the ability of those guys to make you feel that you're seeing what's going on. The best ones are great at it. But I don't pay too much attention to the announcers when the game is going on while I'm watching it. Pre-game and halftime yes, watching it not so much.

  14. Everyone gets all excited about the Devil, but then when you actually get to meet him he is totally boring and that is the secret of eternal damnation and TB12.

  15. The play by play analysts make more money than the lead announcer.
    That surprised me somewhat.

  16. He will never be as good at calling games as Tony Romo, no matter how much they pay him.

  17. While I agree that most people’s viewing habits are not formed around the analysts and are based solely on the game itself and their team biases but if the color analyst belongs to the #1 crew that means they usually get the big games or headline games and it would affect your enjoyment if you like or do not like the analyst. For a neutral fan like me, I prefer a analyst who can provide me insight into the game or subtle nuances that I might miss as a non-technical fan. Tony Romo seems to have been doing a great job of that. His over-enthusiasm might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Brady needs to learn or hone his skill at explaining intricacy of the game into layman’s terms so everybody can benefit from his wealth of 20 plus years of pro-football knowledge of the game as one of the great QBs of his era. Time will tell of course and I look forward to seeing how that will turn out.

  18. Only 2 things? How about, as someone else mentioned, they said to be lead analyst. Maybe that is true, but maybe he also has several other duties which would make it “inaccurate”.

  19. If such an opportunity existed, why did Brady unretire? Surely his retirement spurred immediate broadcasting opportunities, so how did cancelling his retirement increase his availability????

  20. portis26 says:
    May 11, 2022 at 2:16 am

    It is not a real ‘dispute’, it is simply because listed companies like Fox have a strict obligation to report material new financial information to the market. Because this didn’t happen they have to dispute it or be guilty of a legal infraction.

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    For a company the size of Fox, I do not believe this meets the threshold to be “material.”

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