Last offseason, broadcaster transactions dominated the NFL’s news cycle more than player transactions.
In July, Fox announced a stunning 10-year deal with Tom Brady to become its lead analyst whenever he retired from the NFL. This came on the heels of the network elevating Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen from its “B” booth to its “A” booth after losing Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to ESPN.
Olsen, who is currently in his second full season as a color commentator, joined the latest episode of the SI Media Podcast and shared his feelings on holding a job that he knows is reserved for someone else. He also talked about the time he spoke to Brady about the situation earlier this season.
Burkhardt told the SI Media Podcast in late November that when Olsen saw Brady, he said “Tom, I gotta tell you, this TV thing sucks.”
Olsen confirmed Burkhardt’s story and gave some more detail on the podcast.
“It is a true story,” Olsen said, “and Kevin and I had joked leading up to that first Bucs game, I think we had them early in the season, I wanna say it was Week 2 or 3, and we had joked, what do we say to him? Obviously everyone knows that he potentially could come work for Fox and it’s my job. We were just joking around, so it wasn’t anything pre-planned and it kinda came up, and he’s asking how we’re doing, and like Kevin said, we were just shooting the s---, just kind of small talking, breaking the ice. And I was like, ‘You know, Tom, this TV s--- sucks. Don't even worry about it. I’ll handle it. I’ll deal with all the bulls---. You just keep playing, go be a model, do whatever; you have a thousand things you could do.’ And he got a kick out of it, and we laughed.”
Olsen continued, “I don't know Tom really well. I know him; we’ve crossed paths, obviously playing against each other a bunch of times over the years, and we had some dialogue back in 2020 about potentially going to play with him when he was a free agent and I got released by the Panthers. So we've had some relationship over the years, nothing overly personal or away from the game at all, but he's obviously someone that I have immense respect for and someone I feel very strongly and hold in high regard.
“It was a fun moment. He laughed. It was kind of a fun ice breaker. Like you said, it was the elephant in the room. Everyone was thinking it.”
Olsen then elaborated on the awkward set up of working as part of Fox’s “A” crew, but possibly not working with the “A” crew if Brady retires after this year and goes into the booth.
“Everyone knows it, and I haven’t shied away from it. It’s not something that I hide from. It’s not something that intimidates me or makes me feel uncomfortable. It is what it is, right? I mean, I get it. Would I have loved to get the job for the next 10 years? Of course. Do I understand that when you have a chance to do something with Tom Brady that you have to at least pursue it and take a shot at it? Of course. I get it.
“I told the team at Fox when we talked all this out, and they were super transparent and up-front; they were great. I said, ‘You know what guys? Here’s my goal: I hope next year after the Super Bowl, I hope the conversations internally”—I said this in jest—I said, ‘I hope that it’s like, Damn, I can't believe we have to replace Olsen.’ I said, ‘And if I do that and you replace me, I go back down to my old team. Great. Tom Brady becomes the A crew. I get it. It sucks, but I get it, and it’s not going to take away from how I prepare; it’s not going to take away from how I try to do my job.
“‘I'll go try to do a great job next year and make it even harder on you guys.’
“That's just my mentality, that's how I was raised as a player. Someone comes in to take your job? Fine, bench me, but I’m going to make it hard as shit on you to bench me.”
Olsen made it clear he has no issue with Brady or Fox.
“Again, it’s nothing personal against Tom,” said Olsen. “I have no animosity toward Fox. Fox has treated me incredibly well. I’ve said that time and time again.
“I would not be in this position if it wasn’t for Fox believing in me five, six years ago to give me a shot like they did to call a game when no one had ever seen me do it.
“Fox believed in me more than any other network. Some of the other networks, we kind of danced, and there was some interest, but nobody like Fox, so I have nothing but positives to say about my entire experience with the people at Fox. I hope I work with them for the next 20 years. I just hope it’s with the A crew.”
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.
