Tom Brady is already one of Fox’s most valuable assets heading into the World Cup.
According to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, Fox is releasing a digital content series this week called Zlatan x Brady: GOATS on GREATNESS, an hour-plus conversation between Brady and Fox World Cup studio analyst Zlatan Ibrahimović, which Fox plans to roll out in clips before dropping the full discussion on its social and YouTube channels next Tuesday, May 26, the same day the U.S. national team reveals its roster.
As Awful Announcing covered last summer, Brady and Rupert Murdoch were both present at the FIFA Club World Cup final in Donald Trump’s box alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino, which was a good signal, as any, that Fox was using its biggest names to build relationships ahead of the World Cup on American soil. Brady has been doing that work internally, too, according to Fox Sports president Brad Zager, who told The Athletic that he’s also been instrumental in recruiting talent to the network, telling prospective hires how he’s been treated and making Fox a more attractive destination for big names.
Brady also holds a minority stake in Birmingham City, an English soccer club, and has publicly spoken about the need for American soccer to develop its own generational star.
Ibrahimović was signed by Fox in March as one of the centerpieces of its World Cup studio coverage. The full studio lineup, revealed Tuesday, also includes Thierry Henry, Clarence Seedorf, Peter Schmeichel, Chicharito, Alexi Lalas, Carli Lloyd, Clint Dempsey, and Landon Donovan, with Rebecca Lowe hosting alongside Rob Stone. Fox, which is undergoing its biggest logistical undertaking in the company’s history, is carrying all 104 matches across 16 host cities in three countries, with 70 on broadcast and 34 on FS1 from June 11 through the final on July 19.
No further plans currently exist to use Brady in World Cup coverage beyond the digital series, per The Athletic, though Fox executives said they’d connect him with James Corden’s late-night World Cup show on the network if the opportunity arises.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.