His stated goal when he took his first job broadcasting games for NFL on FOX was the same one he harbored as a star tight end for 14 seasons in the league.Make it hard as hell for them to replace you, Olsen told NorthJersey.com in a 2022 interview, and he has done just that.
Now the football is in the hands of FOX Sports executives, and there is a strong indication that, even with Olsen’s emergence as the best game analyst in the sport this season, the New Jersey legend is about to lose his gig to a broadcasting rookie.
The newbie also happens to be the greatest quarterback of all time.
Olsen knew the deal when he was paired with Kevin Burkhardt as Fox’s No. 1 team: the network had already committed to paying Tom Brady $375 million to eventually be in that spot, and it was only a matter of time.
That time is upon us, at least according to what Brady confirmed during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday afternoon. Olsen and Burkhardt received rave reviews from fans and media alike for their call of Sunday’s NFC Championship Game that featured an epic 17-point comeback by the San Francisco 49ers to beat the Detroit Lions, earning a place in Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on Feb. 11.
Given the financial investment the network has made in Brady, it’s understandable this is the road on which they have decided to travel. Of course, that doesn’t make this any easier with Burkhardt, Olsen, Erin Andrews, and Tom Rinaldi seemingly peaking as a team.
If Olsen is bumped to Fox’s No. 2 team, his $10 million salary will be cut to $3 million, an individual with knowledge of the situation confirmed to NorthJersey.com.
I think Greg’s done an incredible job, I have so much respect for him, how he approaches his job, Brady said. He’s super prepared in what he does. I think he does an incredible job every time he’s on, I love listening to him.
The initial plan was for Brady to take over with Burkhardt prior to this past season, but a collective decision was made that he would wait until 2024. That gave Olsen two full seasons, including a Super Bowl last year, to team with Burkhardt, who called his high school games at Wayne Hills when he was a rising broadcaster in North Jersey.
Burkhardt and Olsen replaced Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, who left FOX for ESPN’s Monday Night Football, and the Jersey Boys pairing with Andrews on the sideline found their groove quickly and impressed with each passing week.
Behind the scenes, Brady has been prepping for the big move to the booth. He and Burkhardt have met up at the FOX studios in Los Angeles for practice together, calling mock games to work through any growing pains there will undoubtedly be for the seven-time Super Bowl champion.
Naturally, there’s skepticism, Brady said. I’m gonna be a rookie.
For Olsen, his own growth and development has put him in an interesting quandary. There’s no question his presence at the top of the business is earned. If he stays at FOX, not only will he take a pay cut, but he’d likely have to start from scratch in terms of building chemistry with No. 2 play-by-play man Joe Davis.
Tony Romo (CBS), Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Aikman (ESPN), and Kirk Herbstreit (Amazon) are all reportedly under contract through the 2024 season. But it would not come as a surprise if any of those networks makes a push to pluck Olsen from FOX, especially CBS with Romo drawing criticism for his performance the past two seasons after he took the business by storm when he started.
It’s hard to predict how all that plays out, Olsen told The Athletic on Tuesday. But my end goal is to call premiere games at the top of the ladder, and that pursuit won’t change regardless of what happens this next year with my current role.
