Fox Sports Bets Long-Term on Tom Brady’s Studio for Content Diversification

Fox Sports has announced its investment in Shadow Lion, the entertainment and marketing studio co-founded by its lead NFL analyst Tom Brady, as part of its broader push to expand content development beyond traditional live sports broadcasting.

The move will see Shadow Lion establish a presence on the Fox lot in Los Angeles and collaborate with the network on original series, films, digital content, and event-led programming.

While financial terms were not disclosed, Fox Sports CEO and executive producer, Eric Shanks, characterised the investment as a long-term strategic play rather than a short-term commercial partnership.

“Once we met them, it became pretty clear that a partnership with Shadow Lion and Tom could give Fox Sports… a new gear.”

Suggesting the deal aims to diversify Fox Sports’ output and align more closely with athlete-driven storytelling.

The investment aligns with Fox’s recent pattern of targeted stakes in sports and culture organisations. The company has previously backed Penske Entertainment and acquired stakes in content and consumer ventures such as vertical video firm Holywater and Studio Ramsey Global.

Shanks noted that these moves are driven by alignment and long-term creative upside rather than traditional private equity-style deal-making.

Framing the partnership as an opportunity to extend his on-air role into year-round content development, NFL analyst, Brady, added:

“How do we branch out and continue to tell stories year round and develop original content, original series, things that are behind the scenes that everybody wants to see.”

Shadow Lion co-founder, Gilad Haas, said the partnership marks a step toward larger-scale entertainment production.

“I see this as kind of a new chapter for us… now have a really great partner in Fox who’s eager to distribute great content.” 

The first planned project under the partnership is a docuseries centred on the University of Michigan football program, with Brady and former Michigan and current Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh set to executive produce.

The collaboration also extends to event programming, including next year’s Fanatics Flag Football Classic in Saudi Arabia, where Brady is expected to participate.

For Fox Sports, the deal enhances its ability to offer integrated brand activation and storytelling solutions.

“It’s not just the Tom content company”, Shanks expressed, pointing to Shadow Lion’s capacity to produce commercial, digital, and longform content that may appeal to sponsors seeking deeper audience engagement.

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