Top 5 highest-paid NFL broadcasting contracts of all time ft. Tom Brady

NFL broadcasters have been breaking new barriers recently by receiving mega-contracts to call NFL games. A few years ago, it was unheard of for any broadcaster to exceed ten million dollars per year on their contract, but now all of the top broadcasters in the country make more than that, while some of them have surpassed it by a wide margin.

As the rapidly growing market for elite broadcasters continues to reset itself, all the major networks have been in bidding wars to land some of the top talents in the industry, as well as the next generation of former players and stars to join their commentators in the broadcast booth. Here are the top five largest contracts handed out to NFL broadcasters, ranked by AAV.

Largest NFL broadcaster contracts by AAV

#5 - Jim Nantz - $10.5 million (approximate)

Jim Nantz at the 2022 Naismith Awards

Jim Nantz is the lead play-by-play announcer for CBS sports and is featured in many of their major events annually. In addition to calling football games with Tony Romo, Nantz also gets the opportunity to voice The Masters golf tournament and NCAA Final Four basketball tournament.

While the exact details of Nantz's contract have never been made public, multiple reports have stated that it's worth right around $10.5 million per year.

#4 - Joe Buck - $15 million

FOX announcer Joe Buck at the U.S. Open

Joe Buck has been the main voice of FOX sports but is making the switch to ESPN for the 2022 NFL season for $75 million across five years. He will join Troy Aikman in the booth to call the weekly edition of Monday Night Football.

While still with FOX, Buck had the opportunity to announce many major annual events. Some of them include the US Open golf tournament and the MLB World Series.

Highest-paid NFL broadcasters by AAV

#2 (tied) - Tony Romo - $18 million

Broadcaster and former quarterback Tony Romo

Tony Romo gets credit for being the one who reset the market and created a new standard for what broadcasters are worth. He landed a massive contract with CBS worth $180 million over ten years, making him the highest-paid broadcaster of all time when he signed the deal.

Romo signed his contract during the 2020 NFL season. Since then, most of the major broadcasters around the sport have received significant raises from their previous contracts.

#2 (tied) - Troy Aikman - $18 million

Broadcaster and former quarterback Troy Aikman

Troy Aikman was featured at the center of a bidding war during the 2022 NFL offseason. His contract with FOX expired, making him a free agent in the broadcasting world. FOX and Amazon both made serious attempts to sign Aikman to a new contract, but he ultimately went with ESPN to take over the weekly edition of Monday Night Football.

ESPN gave Troy Aikman the same AAV that CBS gave Tony Romo, making the two of them tied for being the highest-paid broadcasters that are currently active and calling games. They won't retain that title forever, as the current player at the top of this list has a record-breaking contract to call games when he retires from playing, worth more than the two of them combined.

#1 - Tom Brady - $37.5 million

Legendary quarterback Tom Brady

Tom Brady has made a living out of destroying every NFL record that can be held by a quarterback. He will continue his record-breaking ways after he leaves the football field to a mind-blowing broadcaster contract from FOX worth $375 million over ten years.

The massive deal is worth more than double any other broadcaster's current contract is worth right now. Tom Brady has never held a job as a broadcaster for any major network in his entire life, but is already a legend on his contract alone. It seems he's already locked in his retirement plans, whenever that may be.