Fox Sports invests in Tom Brady's entertainment studio as NFL legend unveils 'new chapter'

Tom Brady's relationship with Fox is about to get a lot closer as the network gets into business with its most high-profile on-air talent. 

Fox Sports is investing in Shadow Lion, the entertainment and marketing studio co-founded by the seven-time Super Bowl winner. 

The network will work with the former quarterback's studio to produce original series, films, event programming and digital content that span across a tight-knit combination of sports and culture, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

Financial details of the deal were not made public. However, Fox Sports CEO and executive producer Eric Shanks insisted that the company is in it for the long haul.

'It's extending this Fox Sports experience beyond just NFL games on Sunday,' Brady, who is in the second season of his 10-year, $375million deal with Fox as its lead NFL color commentator, told THR. 

'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. You find different partnerships with different athletes, different brands, I think it's just exponential growth. And I'm so excited to have all these things happen in one place.' 

The partnership is set to kick off with a documentary on Brady's Alma Mater, the University of Michigan. 

The docuseries will focus on the football program in Ann Arbor with Brady, its most famous alum, and former coach Jim Harbaugh executive producing. The legendary signal caller is also expected to feature on screen, according to the report. 

'It was a huge moment in my life, my career there,' Brady said. 'Being in Ann Arbor and seeing the program and seeing what coach Harbaugh built felt like the perfect way to start the collaboration.'

As part of the deal, Shadow Lion is set to open an office on the Fox lot in Los Angeles, where newly-hired head of content Philip Byron will work from. 

'I see this as kind of a new chapter for us and for the business as we expand to produce more longer form and continue to produce digital and short form content, continue to be talent-led in a lot of the things that we do, and now have a really great partner in Fox who's eager to distribute great content, to maintain the premium experience that they've developed for sports fans,' added Gilad Haas, the co-founder of Shadow Lion. 

Fox and Shadow Lion are expected to also collaborate on the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, which will be held in Saudi Arabia next year. 

Brady will be suiting up to play in the event, while Fox will be airing the showdown. 

Brady's role with Fox was called into question earlier this NFL season over his capacity as an minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Brady's role as both Fox analyst and Raiders co-owner has also sparked debate in recent weeks - with suggestions that he'd leak information from his broadcasting duties. 

He was was spotted wearing a headset in the coach's booth during a Monday Night Football game between the Raiders and the division-rival Los Angeles Chargers earlier in the season. 

The sight of Brady in the booth has led to fans raising questions about a potential conflict of interest or violation of the rules set forth by the NFL dictating what the seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback can and cannot do in both these roles.

Brady was spotted sitting among the offensive coaching staff as ESPN spoke about how he worked with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly every week.