Tom Brady’s Las Vegas Raiders ownership supposedly conflicting with his broadcasting career has become a hot topic lately. So much so that the Hall of Famer felt the need to address it, centering his latest newsletter entirely on the issue. In response to the controversy, Greg Olsen has now shared some interesting insights, defending the man who once took his job.
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Brady and Olsen seemed at odds when the GOAT started his broadcasting role with FOX. Coming off calling the Super Bowl, Olsen was somewhat candid about being replaced in the primetime booth. He called it an “ego hit” and admitted he was upset at the time.
That’s why it was surprising to hear Olsen defend his colleague in a recent interview. When the topic of Brady’s conflict of interest came up, Olsen explained that the information teams provide to commentators before a game depends entirely on the coach.
“It depends on who you talk to,” Olsen started on Pardon My Take. The former Carolina Panther then talked about how some coaches reveal a lot about their game plan.
“There are some coaches where we know, going into the meeting, we only have to talk to them. They are going to be very forthright, very honest. They’re going to tell us exactly where the matchups are, exactly what the thought processes are… And they know, over years of doing this, that there’s a level of trust that’s sacred,” Olsen shared.
He went on to explain that those coaches know that the information simply helps him and other broadcasters do their jobs better. It never gets shared outside the room, and it keeps everyone on the same page. Sounds like a well-run operation, right?
Well, Olsen later added that not all coaches approach these meetings the same way.
“There are some teams and some coaches who tell you nothing. And it’s not personal. It’s just their style, it’s their nature, and they don’t offer up anything outside of very coach-speak. It is almost more like a press conference… So you get both ends of the spectrum,” Olsen revealed.
The former tight end then discussed Brady’s specific experience, noting that he believes teams will approach meetings with him the same way they approach any other broadcaster. If a team is comfortable sharing information, they will. But if they aren’t for any reason, they won’t, and everything will still be fine.
At the end of the day, though, Olsen said that from his experience, these production meetings rarely lead to real information being shared on the broadcast.
“It really isn’t that big of a deal. There’s 1 or 2 nuggets from every production meeting on average that really ever make the broadcast.”
So, from the sounds of it, Brady’s ownership and broadcasting gig shouldn’t be as big a deal as it’s being made out to be. The former QB even took the time to relate the “paranoia” around his ownership to the modern-day mindset of sports fans. After all, fans nowadays seem more skeptical and suspicious than ever. But sometimes, nothing fishy is actually going on.
All in all, it was a good look behind the curtain of what goes into a sports broadcast production meeting. Interestingly, some coaches share a lot while others do not. One has to wonder how much information is being shared with Brady, and if that distrust has worked its way up to NFL teams. But Olsen is here to say that’s most likely not the case.
