In two weeks, Fox color commentator Greg Olsen will call his first Super Bowl as a member of their No. 1 NFL booth alongside Kevin Burkhardt. However, with the news that Tom Brady is officially retiring (for real this time), it might end up being his one and only appearance.
Fox signed Brady to a $375 million last year to pair with Burkhardt in the booth as soon as he retires While plenty of NFL viewers and media members don’t see Brady’s appeal beyond his name, it seems like they’ll want to make that move sooner than later in spite of the fact that Olsen is emerging as one of the most interesting analysts on TV.
Olsen hasn’t been very shy about his frustrations over the situation, though he’s been making the best of it. His hope that Brady keeps playing long enough for Greg to prove that he’s irreplaceable doesn’t appear to have worked out.
While Fox has said it has no plans to include Brady in their Super Bowl LVII booth, the question of when Brady will begin that transition looms over everything Olsen does from here on out. We learned Wednesday that he has an out-clause in his contract if another No. 1 gig opens up elsewhere, which now seems like a distinct possibility. But in the meantime, speculation about Olsen’s situation and where he goes from here ran rampant in the NFL world on Wednesday.
https://twitter.com/normcharlatan/status/1620826963190644737
Greg Olsen’s agents first call should be to Fox… are you really going to take a risk on Brady being bad?
Next call to NBC and ask if they’re still happy with Collinsworth.
We know Romo and Aikman are locked in.
Olsen deserves a prime time gig.
— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) February 1, 2023
Tell Romo it was a nice run, CBS. https://t.co/kJkVXuoLn5
— Brendan Darr (@BrendanDarr) February 1, 2023
If CBS wanted the color analyst that they thought Tony Romo was… https://t.co/d8Jn5BfSBy
— Ishmael Johnson (@IshmaelRJohnson) February 1, 2023
This is a tough break for Greg Olsen. He’s been very good on FOX’s top broadcast team in these playoffs, and Brady’s retirement sets him up to take Olsen’s job next season.
— Zack Cox (@zm_cox) February 1, 2023
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.