Current:Home > reviewsWhat's next for Greg Olsen with Tom Brady in line to take No. 1 spot on FOX? -USAMarket
What's next for Greg Olsen with Tom Brady in line to take No. 1 spot on FOX?
Ethermac Exchange View
Date:2025-04-07 10:15:41
Greg Olsen accomplished what he set out to do.
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, Olsen is about to lose his gig to a broadcasting rookie.
The newbie also happens to be the greatest quarterback of all time.
NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.
Olsen knew the deal when he was paired with Kevin Burkhardt as FOX’s No. 1 team: the network had already committed to pay 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.
Burkhardt and Olsen replaced Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, who left FOX for ESPN's "Monday Night Football," and the 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 in order 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, and 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."
veryGood! (11883)
Related
- The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
- Wells Fargo customers report missing deposits to their bank accounts
- Scouting body asks South Korea to cut World Scout Jamboree short amid heat wave
- St. Louis police protesters begin picking up checks in $4.9 million settlement
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- Megan Rapinoe, Sue Bird and More Athlete Romances Worth Cheering For
- Fox News' Johnny Joey Jones reflects on 13th 'Alive Day' anniversary after losing his legs
- Power at the gas pump: Oregon lets drivers fuel their own cars, lifting decades-old self-serve ban
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Newly discovered whale that lived almost 40 million years ago could be heaviest animal ever, experts say
Ranking
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- FAA sets up new process for lower air tour flights in Hawaii after fatal crashes
- Simone Biles wins 2023 U.S. Classic during return to competitive gymnastics
- Employee fired for allowing diesel fuel to leak into city water supply
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- 4th body is found in New Jersey house that exploded; 2 injured children were rescued by civilians
- Anthony Davis agrees to three-year, $186 million extension with Los Angeles Lakers
- Five Americans who have shined for other countries at 2023 World Cup
Recommendation
Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
Poet Maggie Smith talks going viral and being confused with that OTHER Maggie Smith
Anthony Davis agrees to three-year, $186 million extension with Los Angeles Lakers
New offshore wind power project proposed for New Jersey Shore, but this one’s far out to sea
Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
Are you very agreeable? This personality trait may be why you make less money than your peers.
Vivek Ramaswamy, the youngest GOP presidential candidate, wants civics tests for young voters 18 to 24
Lawsuit filed to block Port of New Orleans’ $1.8B container port project