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The lights will be bright in Santa Clara, California, but Tom Brady will be watching in silence.
Despite being Fox Sports' lead NFL analyst, Brady will not be in the broadcast booth for Super Bowl LX on February 8, 2026, because Fox does not own the television rights to this year's game.
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Super Bowl 2026 brings together the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, a matchup loaded with history and symbolism. It was against Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX, back in February 2015, that Brady led the Patriots to a dramatic 28-24 win, a game remembered for Malcolm Butler's goal-line interception and Brady's fourth Lombardi Trophy.
That history, combined with the location, made Brady's absence from the broadcast especially noticeable. Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara sits just a short drive from San Mateo, where Brady grew up. From storyline to setting, the game seemed built for his voice.
The broadcast reality behind Tom Brady's absence
The explanation is not complicated, but it is decisive. The NFL rotates Super Bowl broadcasting rights among its major media partners. For the 2025-26 season, NBC holds the rights to Super Bowl LX, as outlined in the league's long-term media agreements announced in 2021.
Because Brady is an exclusive Fox Sports employee, he cannot appear as an analyst on a rival network's broadcast. NBC's coverage will instead feature its top commentary team, Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth, who have called several Super Bowls together and remain the network's primary NFL voices.
Brady's deal with Fox, widely reported by outlets such as The Athletic to be worth approximately $375 million over 10 years, positions him as the network's future centerpiece. However, it also ties his Super Bowl appearances in the booth to Fox's broadcast years. The next Super Bowl Fox is scheduled to air is in 2029.
From booth to front-row spectator
Brady will still be part of the event. During Fox's broadcast of the NFC Championship Game, he confirmed he would attend the Super Bowl in person, stating, "I'm going to be there in San Francisco watching in my home town." League insiders expect him to be present in a premium suite or field-level seating.
The shift is notable when compared to last season. Brady made his Super Bowl debut as a broadcaster in 2025 alongside Kevin Burkhardt, earning positive reviews from analysts for his preparation and on-field perspective. This year marks a pause in that new chapter, not a step back.
How this fits into the bigger NFL picture
Brady's absence underscores how much the modern Super Bowl has become a network-driven event, shaped as much by media contracts as by football narratives. Other former quarterbacks turned analysts, such as Tony Romo and Troy Aikman, have faced similar limitations depending on which network holds the rights.
For fans, it means hearing a familiar NBC broadcast style rather than Brady's emerging analytical voice. For Brady, it reinforces that his post-playing career is still bound by the same league structures that defined his playing days.
What's next for Tom Brady
Barring a change in network alignment or role, Brady's next opportunity to call a Super Bowl will come when Fox returns to the rotation later in the decade. Until then, he remains one of the game's most prominent observers, just not its narrator on football's biggest night.
Super Bowl LX kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 8, 2026, live from Santa Clara, California.
This article is based on confirmed NFL broadcast rights schedules, official statements from Fox Sports and NBC Sports, and Tom Brady's on-air remarks during the NFC Championship Game. Contract details were referenced from reporting by The Athletic and corroborated by major U.S. sports media outlets.