Tom Brady will replace Troy Aikman as lead NFL on FOX analyst after he retires

Tom Brady will move from under center to up in the broadcasting booth for FOX once he retires.

FOX has found its long-term successor for the lead NFL analyst role vacated by Troy Aikman’s departure to ESPN: Tom Brady.

Yes, the seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback will be paired alongside Kevin Burkhardt as the No. 1 team for FOX as soon as he is done playing. Brady is entering the final year of his contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his age-45 season out of Michigan. While Greg Olsen was fantastic during his first year in the booth, FOX does have two of the next three Super Bowls.

There is so much to unpack from this, but here is Adam Schefter breaking the latest Brady news.

Here is an official statement by FOX Sports on signing Brady after his playing career ends.

And it is only fitting Brady had a snarky, on-brand quote tweet about the surprise announcement.

Tom Brady to become the No. 1 NFL analyst for FOX after he calls it a career

Frankly, it would serve FOX to keep Olsen paired with Burkhardt for as long as Brady continues to play ball. They have quickly established great chemistry, and if Brady goes full-blown Jay Cutler on everyone, FOX knows they have the Burkhardt-Olsen pairing in the bag. While there is no doubt that Brady will be good on television, the question remains how much longer he plans on playing.

Brady has made it a point to play until he is 45 years old. That would be this season, and anything after that is just purely gravy at this point. Though he will still be working every fall Sunday after he hangs up the spikes, Brady will be able to spend more time with his wife Gisele Bündchen and their children once he walks off the playing field and into the No. 1 broadcasting booth for FOX.

For as great as Olsen has been in his second career, FOX clearly needed a big name to keep pace with the likes of ESPN getting Aikman and Amazon signing Kirk Herbstreit this offseason. CBS and NBC have their well-established lead analysts in Tony Romo and Cris Collinsworth, respectively. FOX prioritizes making its sports broadcasts feel big. There is not a bigger football star than Brady.

If Brady is not calling games next to Burkhardt for FOX by 2023, then expect it to happen in 2024.