Fox lead producer makes huge claim about Tom Brady, Raiders conflict

NFL analysts and media insiders continue to suggest that Tom Brady will soon abandon his 10-year, $375M deal as Fox's lead in-game NFL analyst so that he can fully focus on serving as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. 

During a recent chat with Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, Fox NFL lead producer Richie Zyontz boldly predicted how long Brady will stay with the network. 

"I’ll tell you he’ll do it for nine more years because we’ve talked about it," Zyontz said about Brady's commitment to Fox. "He really enjoys this. He is really digging this gig. I was sitting with him a while back and we were just talking about how our meetings are so much fun to be part of and how good the whole experience is working together. I said, 'I hope we get to do this for a long time.' He basically said, with a look that tells me there’s sincerity to it: 'Nine more years.'"

Brady told FS1's Colin Cowherd in January that he wants to stay with Fox for "nine years" or "maybe longer," in part because the seven-time Super Bowl champion feels his latest football-related career is "really fun." Meanwhile, during Super Bowl week, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell revealed that Brady has been "serious about making sure that he" follows the strict guidelines related to being a broadcaster with a business relationship with a franchise.

Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith noted that Brady didn't attend the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl LIX practice on Wednesday, presumably because of the "special set of rules" meant to prevent TB12 from picking up "valuable information about other teams that he could then use to the Raiders’ advantage." While football circles perceive Brady as eventually having to "pick a lane," he's given no indication that will be the case anytime soon. 

"[Brady] has said the exact same thing," Fox NFL lead director Rich Russo told Deitsch. "He loves doing this, and he’s really enjoying it. He said to me: 'I cannot wait for more years. I cannot wait to continue to do this for a long time.' I really believe that. I see no reason why he would not do the nine more years on his contract and maybe even longer, who knows?"

Brady and Fox sent a clear message ahead of Super Bowl LIX. He wants to continue calling games for one of the league's major media partners and will do so for the foreseeable future unless Goodell and the owners of other NFL clubs force him out of the booth.