Why isn’t Tom Brady calling NFL games yet?

(NEXSTAR) — It’s been almost a year since Tom Brady announced his retirement from football “for good.” 

Before the seven-time Super Bowl Champion walked away from the field, he signed a 10-year, $375 million contract to be the lead analyst for the Fox Sports team. 

When the deal was announced in May 2022, executive chairman and CEO of Fox Corporation Lachlan Murdoch said Brady would join Fox Sports “immediately following his playing career,” Nexstar’s WFLA reports.

While his retirement came well in advance of the Super Bowl last year, Brady didn’t “immediately” join any post-season Fox Sports coverage, even though the network carried the game. 

Now, we’re nearly all the way through yet another season and we haven’t seen Brady calling any games. So where is he? 

Have no fear — the former quarterback for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will soon return to your television screens on Sundays. 

In a September episode of his podcast, “Let’s Go,” Brady said he is still on track to join Fox after taking a year off, Sports Illustrated reported. 

“I’ll be on Fox next year (meaning 2024), so I have a chance to really sit back and watch and learn a different career.”

There’s no doubt he’s watching his former teammates, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman, who have both joined Fox Sports as analysts since their own retirements. 

Brady confirmed in early 2023 that he wouldn’t join Fox Sports until the fall of 2024, so he likely won’t make a surprise post-season appearance in the coming weeks either —  Fox’s last game of the season will be the NFC championship on Sunday, Jan. 28. 

Since retiring, Brady has been busy. In addition to his podcast, he joined the board of Delta Air Lines as a “long-term strategic adviser,” in September. He has also appeared in commercials for Hertz car rentals, has apparel and wellness brands, and is a minority owner of the WNBA Las Vegas Aces and the English second-tier soccer team Birmingham. He’s even trying to purchase a stake in the Las Vegas Raiders, though that deal has been stalled.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.