When Tom Brady signed his record-breaking 10-year deal with Fox Sports to become their lead color analyst, few considered the potential fallout. But fallout there was. It quickly became clear that Greg Olsen would be the one to fall on the sword. Despite thriving as the A team’s analyst alongside Kevin Burkhardt, his spot had to be cleared to make way for the GOAT.
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Olsen was soon shifted to the B team. And since he was a fan favorite, the move stirred up a row. Olsen himself candidly admitted that the demotion “sucked” (via the Charlotte Observer). He then mentioned the word “resentment,” but clarified that he holds none of that towards Brady, Burkhardt, or sideline reporter Erin Andrews.
However, he just couldn’t sit there and act like everything was fine. “Yeah, it’s hard to sit there and watch games that over the last couple of years you were preparing for and you were calling.” How could it be anything but that? Olsen got only the slightest taste of what it was like to be the lead color analyst for perhaps the most popular broadcast in the NFL.
He got to call one Super Bowl, the Chiefs vs. Eagles in 2023, which he was great in. But after that, he had to be cleared to make way for the newly appointed Brady.
Surely, most people would feel wronged if the same happened to them. Olsen was great at his job, yet didn’t get to keep it. Now, he still calls games, but he blends into the Sunday madness alongside a litany of other voices. Meanwhile, Brady and Burkhardt stand out and get to call the game of the week, weekly.
Even still, Olsen is keeping it professional. He now admits that his initial comments may have made it seem like he harbored some resentment toward his replacement, but he clarifies that wasn’t the case at all.
“Ever since I’ve been little, I’ve always wanted to be good. Whatever I’m doing, I want to be good at it, and I’m going to do everything in my power to be as good. I’m never going to be the best. I don’t have to be the best at it, but I’m going to be whatever my best is,” Olsen started on Bussin With The Boys.
It’s what most of us aspire to in our jobs. We want to progressively get better at our craft and hone our skills to become great at it. Olsen was doing just that as the lead analyst for Fox, and he was finding his groove before being replaced.
However, the former tight end later says that Brady had signed a deal before he was elevated, so he knew a demotion was possible.
“We knew, going in, that Tom had signed a futures deal. In essence, to be determined whenever he was done playing, when he was going to start it. But he had a deal on the table before I got elevated from the 2 crew with Kevin to the one crew. So, I knew going in I was going to call the A crew for a year, and past that was TBD,” Olsen said.
It must have been a massive grey cloud constantly looming over his head at the time. In hindsight, it’s impressive that Olsen remained collected enough to do an excellent job through it all. It’s hard to work knowing that you will be replaced soon.
In the end, though, despite the replacement, Olsen holds no personal animosity towards Brady.
“Tom and I’s relationship both professionally and personally is really good… I have zero animosity for Tom,” he shared.
He even made it clear that both he and Brady can thrive in the industry without one’s success taking away from the other’s.
“My ascension individually does not have to come at the expense of him. It does not have to come in animosity towards him. If he has a long career in this industry, so can I,” he concluded.
All in all, it’s a good mindset that Olsen has kept throughout the tough process. Even though he lost his spot on Fox’s A broadcasting crew, he still works for the station and has a good relationship with his colleagues. The situation could’ve gotten messy after his comments that he shared months ago. But Olsen has remained steadfast that it was a moment of honesty. His clarifications have smoothed things over.
Maybe if you give them long enough, Fox will test out a 3-man broadcast crew with both Olsen and Brady as color analysts. ESPN tried it out around COVID. It’s not a bad idea, especially given that fans haven’t been too entertained by Brady’s analysis so far.
