Watch: Why Patrick Mahomes’ NFL Salary Is Dropping Almost $35 Million This Year
Huddle up, because we have some crucial stats to share with you.
No, they have nothing to do with Travis Kelce‘s receiving yards or Patrick Mahome‘s completion percentage. Though, if you ask Taylor Swift, her guy on the Chiefs is earning every cent of his three-year $57.7 million contract.
As any Swiftie worth her friendship bracelet knows all too well, that was her husband making a touchdown grab in the first quarter of Kansas City’s Sept. 20 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
But he’s not the only NFL star making big plays.
Before Tom Brady, Tony Romo, Erin Andrews, Charles Barkley and other sports broadcasters suit up to hit the field, the pitch or the hardwood, they’re also studying game film, diagramming the plays and putting in the reps.
“I do take a lot of pride in how much I work and how much I prepare,” Fox Sports lead NFL sideline reporter Andrews told E! News in 2025. “My job means the world to me.”
Andrews’ colleague, meanwhile, is similarly determined not to fumble his post-NFL gig, though these days Brady’s Monday morning quarterbacking looks a bit different.
When I was a player, I never felt like I did things the right way. There were games where I would go in afterward and say, ‘Man, I’m the worst quarterback in the NFL,'” Brady acknowledged in a 2024 chat with Fox Sports pundit Colin Cowherd. “I’m sure I’m going to feel that way at Fox where I finish a game and I go, ‘I didn’t even give them what they wanted.'”
Still, he tries his best to stick to a solid game plan.
“For me, so much of this is going to come down to the preparation,” the seven-time Super Bowl champ stressed. “Did I feel like I was prepared? Did I feel like our crew was prepared? Did I give them the best over the course of the week so we could give ourselves the best opportunity to be successful for the fans?”
Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
While he and his colleagues may not be scoring contracts quite as big as the $504 million extension Mahomes inked in June, they’re converting some major deals.
For instance, when Andrews became a free agent in 2025 for the first time in her two-decade career, Fox was quick to get her back on their roster. Though the Xs and Os of the deal weren’t disclosed publicly, her annual salary is reportedly close to $2 million.
Her Calm Down With Erin and Charissa cohost Charissa Thompson was also retained, uh, calming down listeners who thought she may be drafted by another network.
“I was never leaving Fox,” Thompson, who helms the network’s NFL Kickoff pregame show along with Prime’s Thursday Night Football pregame programming, told Andrews on an April 2025 episode of their podcast. “I don’t know where this took on a life of its own, where I was hosting my family at the ranch for the past weekend. Four of my family members asked, ‘Well, the place looks great. How are you going to afford it now that you don’t have a job?'”
Of course, she’s not the only one with a savvy game plan. Check out the other broadcasters who have snagged some impressive salaries.
Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
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Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Mary Kouw/CBS via Getty Images
Photo by Ella Hall/LSU/University Images via Getty Images
Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)
Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images
Photo by Jason Mendez/Getty Images for SiriusXM
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
