Al Michaels Asked About Tom Brady’s Television Contract

The legendary play-by-play voice weighed in on the quarterback’s reported deal with Fox.

Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady sent shockwaves through the sports media industry when he agreed to join Fox as the lead NFL analyst following his retirement. Not only was the 44-year-old’s decision groundbreaking, but his reported contract was even more jaw-dropping.

According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, Brady agreed to a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox, earning him an average of $37.5 million annually. The deal would be the most lucrative in sports television history.

Fox did not officially disclose the terms of Brady’s contract.

Legendary play-by-play man Al Michaels took note of Brady’s reported deal earlier this year and recently spoke about it with Peter King of NBC Sports. The 77-year-old broadcaster expressed some skepticism about the contract being exclusively for calling games, but said he that he had no issue with the seven-time Super Bowl champion raking in a massive payday.

“The Brady deal, I don’t know whether the number is right,” Michaels told King. “I don’t know whether he’s a brand ambassador, whatever that’s supposed to mean. It can’t just be for doing games. It has to be other stuff. In a way, this is just the way it’s gone.

“I’ve always felt that the ruination of somebody, especially if you’re on a team and the guy at the next locker is making $500,000 more than you and you’re all pissed off about that. Why? We’re all doing pretty well. Enjoy it. Especially at this point of my life, I mean, great. More power to anybody who can get whatever they get. That’s what the market will bear.”

Michaels himself benefited from a boom in the sports broadcasting world this NFL offseason. The longtime NBC play-by-play voice departed the network to join Amazon for the entity’s new Thursday Night Football package. According to Marchand, Michaels signed a deal in the “Joe Buck neighborhood,” earning a five-year, $75 million deal with Amazon.