Why did Fox sign Tom Brady for $375 million, the richest sports broadcasting deal?

New York Post

Fox's deal that -- according to the New York Post's Andrew Marchand -- would pay the NFL legend $37.5 million a year for 10 years once he finally retires has left some scratching their heads. That's because Fox earlier this year opted to let Joe Buck and Troy Aikman leave for rich Monday Night Football deals at ESPN. Presumably, the move was so that Fox could save money. "To understand the 10-year, $375 million Tom Brady deal with Fox Sports, you have to appreciate how the network has looked at itself since its inception and what it would take to entice the greatest quarterback of all time into the broadcast booth," says Marchand. "Fox Sports has always considered itself bigger and badder than anyone else since its inception in 1993, when Rupert Murdoch swiped the NFL from CBS and then paid John Madden $8 million, more than any NFL player at the time, to be Fox’s lead analyst. Fox had a no-brainer replacement for Buck in Kevin Burkhardt as its top NFL play-by-player, but its next best analyst was former All-Pro tight end Greg Olsen." While Olsen may be good, Buck notes, he isn't the greatest NFL player of all time, like Brady. Marchand says no matter Brady's ability as an NFL analyst, "Fox had a need, and its big and bold attitude built around Hall of Famers." ALSO: $375 million is $75 million more than Brady has earned in his entire 22-year NFL career.