
Greg Olsen, who was famously booted to the B-Team of broadcasting at Fox Sports after Tom Brady signed a 10-year contract worth $375 million, says it’s very hard to watch games when his replacement is working.
Olsen, who ended up taking a $7 million annual salary cut after the move, told the Athletic that while he holds no ill will toward Brady, it’s hard to watch games he is calling.
“I don’t think resentment’s probably accurate. But I also think it’s not too far off, if I’m being honest,” he said. “I don’t have any ill will — there’s no personal resentment towards Tom, or obviously K.B. (Kevin Burkhardt) and Erin (Andrews).”
“But 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.”
It seems understandable. Olsen was no slough on the gridiron, but it doesn’t help that his replacement is also a GOAT of such caliber he has nearly two times as many Super Bowl rings as the nearest competitor.
Greg Olsen Finds It Hard to Watch Games Tom Brady Is Calling
Greg Olsen moved to expand on those thoughts, stating that it’s not so much the fact that Tom Brady is calling the games that make it painful but the urge Olsen has to make his own comments in the place of Brady’s.
“And then you’re sitting there on your couch and you’re watching the game, you’re almost kind of broadcasting the game in your brain,” he explained. “You’re saying, ‘Oh, man, what would I have said on this play? There was so much to talk about there. That would’ve been super fun to dive into.'”
“So you’re kinda driving yourself crazy with all these what-if scenarios as you’re watching the game,” Olsen concluded. “It’s very hard now to watch the games and just sit back and watch.”
Olsen, who has been with Fox Sports since 2021, was promoted to the network’s lead NFL analyst role before the 2022 season alongside Burkhardt. The two broadcasters helped call Super Bowl LVII between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs. It was watched by over 115 million viewers.
Despite his demotion for 2024, Olsen has maintained a positive outlook and has even joked about making headlines over the unique situation.
RELATED: Tom Brady Asked Greg Olsen For Broadcast Advice Before Replacing Him At Fox Sports
Tried To Get Advice From Olsen
Not only did Tom Brady replace Greg Olsen and get the latter a pay cut, but before ever setting foot in the broadcast booth, he had the cajones to ask the former Carolina Panthers star player for advice about the job he was taking over.
“I had a chance to speak with Tom a couple of weeks ago, and he was just kind of picking my brain about the prep and the industry and what to expect and whatnot,” Olsen told USA Today before the 2024 NFL season commenced.
“So I don’t know. Every guy has their own journey in sports broadcasting,” he added. “I think some guys really transition to it well and take to it pretty quickly. And other guys haven’t. We’ve seen a mixed bag of results over the last couple of years.”
Brady’s season has been just that – a mixed bag of results. A rather unspectacular career move for a spectacular Hall of Fame player.
Fox is also probably experiencing some level of regret with Brady, who is now focused on being a part owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. As such, he will be limited in what kind of game prep he’ll be privy to.
They spent all that money on Brady when Olsen is probably considered the better broadcaster, and now he won’t be able to focus on your games because he’s got ownership worries to contend with. Not a great move, Fox.
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