Tom Brady’s $525m commentary box move sparks drama with colleague set to be pushed out

Tom Brady’s second retirement has created an intriguing and potentially dramatic situation with his next employer.

And just like that, the retired Tom Brady transitions from being considered the greatest player in NFL history to the most interesting person in sports television.

It is not only that he is Tom Brady, but the situation that he and Fox Sports have created is intriguing and potentially dramatic.

As The Post exclusively reported, Brady has a 10-year, A$525 million contract with the network to be its No. 1 game analyst next to commentator Kevin Burkhardt.

If the prospects of Brady in the booth weren’t juicy enough, the man who has kept Brady’s seat warm and will call Super Bowl 2023 with Burkhardt next Monday (AEDT), Greg Olsen, has been really good at the job.

If Olsen excels in the booth during the Eagles-Chiefs decider, then the intrigue will only grow stronger as to how the situation will play out when Brady is ready to join the booth.

The way it is set up now, Brady can jump into the No. 1 booth when he is ready - thereby kicking Olsen out.

It is possible he could go for a gap year, but he very well could be calling the top games next season.

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Tom Brady is on the verge of a lucrative career move. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Former NFL player Greg Olsen (R) has transitioned well into TV analysis. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

As for this Super Bowl, which is televised on Fox in America, all indications are that network executives will not put him in the booth.

They know it would be stupid and unwise with their A$525 million investment to try a three-man set up for the first time with 100 million people watching.

If Brady was unsteady, he would immediately create more questions as to why Fox is replacing Olsen with him. And that investment might quickly look poor.

What seems entirely possible and a wise move for both is for Brady to be part of Fox’s pregame.

Who wouldn’t want his star power and knowledge to bring more shine to the endless analysis and features that will lead into Feb. 13?

There have been some feelings from important people in the business that Brady signed the Fox deal as a hedge and that he may never call a game.

Brady announced his second retirement overnight. Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP

After Joe Buck and Troy Aikman fled for ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” for contracts that totalled A$231 million and some change, Fox Sports did what they historically have done — swung for the fences.

The money kept rising and rising until Brady’s total broadcasting contract ended up higher than the around A$525 million he made as a quarterback.

Is this going to be a passion for Brady? It doesn’t feel that way initially.

There is nothing like playing, but he has talked about being like Johnny Miller was on golf. If he is that cutting, that would be a must-listen.

- This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission.