Tom Brady is eventually going to be a staple of Fox's main NFL broadcast. It was reported on Tuesday that Brady inked a 10-year deal with the network worth $375 million to become its No. 1 NFL analyst.
However, Brady's deal with Fox won't start right away. Instead, it will begin when he officially retires from the NFL.
Brady retired during the early stages of the 2022 NFL offseason, but after 40 days, he opted to return to the field. He is still under contract with the Buccaneers and is planning on playing at least one more season.
As such, Brady won't be in the booth for 2022, and it's possible that he may play beyond this season. Because of that, Fox will need a placeholder in the booth for Brady to complete its short-term top broadcast pairing with Kevin Burkhardt.
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That sounds like it should be an easy find. After all, what analyst would turn down an opportunity to be a part of Fox's top NFL pairing? Well, the potential short-term aspect of this placeholder role could complicate the network's search.
Here are a few placeholder options to keep an eye on as Fox looks to solidify its broadcast plans for 2022.
Greg Olsen
Olsen has long been connected with the No. 1 job at Fox. He is fresh off his first year in the booth, where he served as the analyst alongside Burkhardt on Fox's No. 2 broadcast team. Burkhardt was promoted to the No. 1 team after the departure of Joe Buck, so Olsen has been considered a potential replacement for Troy Aikman.
Fox seems to be high on Olsen. After all, they hired him for a major role last season despite his relative lack of experience in the booth. If they liked his chemistry with Burkhardt, they could opt to keep the duo together as they wait out Brady.
But is Olsen interested in a temporary role? Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports that it's "unclear" whether Olsen would be willing to serve as a placeholder until Brady is ready.
Fox, which has two of the next three Super Bowls including this February, has Greg Olsen as its leading candidate. However, it is unclear how Olsen would feel about being a placeholder until Brady takes over.
If that's the case, Fox may have to leave Olsen on its No. 2 broadcast team and search elsewhere for a short-term color commentator.
MORE: Breaking down Tom Brady's contract with Fox
Drew Brees
Brees is another analyst who is a bit green but has drawn interest from Fox. Brees retired from the NFL after the 2020 NFL season and spent last year working at NBC. He was an analyst on their "Sunday Night Football" pregame show and also spent time in the booth with Mike Tirico when Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth were on break.
It was long rumored that TV networks had an interest in signing Brees after his retirement, but NBC won the original sweepstakes for him a couple of years before his retirement. Could Fox swoop in now, provide him a raise and give him an opportunity to call more games? It seemed possible for a time, but Marchand reports that it is unlikely after the network signed Brady.
The network had thought about NBC’s Drew Brees as a possibility, but with the Brady signing, that may not be an option anymore.
It would probably take a lot of money to lure Brees away from NBC. Fox simply may not be willing to pay that for an analyst who would potentially be relegated to the No. 2 team as soon as 2023.
Michael Strahan
Strahan, like Olsen, represents an internal option for Fox. However, unlike Olsen, Strahan doesn't already call games for the network. He works as a studio host for the network and was a staple of their pre-"Thursday Night Football" coverage.
Could Strahan move to the booth? If Fox needs a quick fix, they could turn to the former Hall of Famer, given his charisma and energy, as a short-term option. The "Good Morning America" host may be happier to operate in that capacity short term compared to other candidates.
It's also worth noting that former Fox Sports TV personality Jason Whitlock told Front Office Sports in March that Strahan could be a "stopgap" option for the No. 1 broadcast team. So, if Fox can't find any takers for the role on a one-year basis, perhaps they would turn to Strahan.
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Sean Payton
Fox loves big names, which is part of why they went after Brady. Payton would certainly fit the bill, as the former Saints coach was considered a big broadcast prize after he retired from coaching during the 2022 NFL offseason.
It seems that there is a connection between Payton and Fox. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported in late April that the two sides were close to a deal to bring Payton to their NFL programming. However, the two sides are only discussing studio analyst deals; they aren't exploring color commentator positions.
Could that change after Fox's deal with Brady? Sure, it could. But it seems like Payton is more interested in becoming a studio analyst. As such, Fox will likely keep him in that role. That would also make him easier to replace if he decides that he wants to go back to coaching in the future, which seems possible.
Jay Cutler
Once upon a time, Cutler was expected to be the future of broadcasting at Fox. It hired Cutler to be its No. 2 analyst for the 2017 NFL season.
However, Cutler got an offer to return to the NFL early during the season to play with the Dolphins; he took it. After that, Fox moved in a different direction while Cutler starred in his now ex-wife's reality show "Very Cavallari."
Could Cutler return to the booth five years later? It's something he would like to do, as he told Front Office Sports.
“I would love to do it. I think it’s a fun gig. It keeps you in the game,” Cutler said in March.
If an opportunity arises, I would jump at it.
Maybe Fox still holds Cutler in a high enough regard to give him a chance. At the very least, keep an eye on him as the network looks to fill out its broadcaster depth chart.
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John Lynch
Look, it's probably not likely that Lynch will take on the No. 1 broadcasting job at Fox. He used to be in the booth for the network but left to become the general manager of the 49ers.
Things have gone well for Lynch and Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. They made the Super Bowl in 2020 and went to the NFC Championship Game last season. That said, if Lynch is getting tired of the GM spotlight or is worried that the 49ers may soon want to make a change, he could consider jumping back to TV.
Front Office Sports reported in late April that Lynch is among the "contenders" for Fox's No. 1 color analyst job. That doesn't necessarily mean that he wants the job; the desire may be more on the network's end.
Nonetheless, the Hall of Famer would be a sensible target for Fox. It's just unclear whether he would actually consider any overtures.
