After months of silence, Greg Olsen has finally spoken out about replacing Tom Brady as Fox’s lead football commentator with a 10-year, $375 million contract this season.
Olsen had spent the previous two seasons as part of Fox’s top NFL duo alongside Kevin Burkhardt, but was demoted to the No. 2 duo with Joe Davis when the seven-time Super Bowl winner entered the broadcast booth.
Despite losing stature with the arrival of Brady, Olsen has no angst about the former Patriot and Buccaneer.
“I want him to do well. I want him to be successful. I want him to feel like I’m a good teammate,” Olsen said. The Athletic. “It’s no different than if I came into the locker room and I was a player and we played in the same position.”
Like Brady, Olsen began getting into broadcasting after his NFL career ended, starting in 2021.
Greg Olsen has broken his silence on replacing Tom Brady as Fox’s lead commentator
Olsen said he has no ill will toward Brady and hopes he succeeds on the broadcast.
During Olsen’s time in the Fox broadcast booth, he became one of the network’s most popular announcers.
Brady’s first week with the headset on for the Cowboys-Browns game was viewed as shaky, but most see room for improvement.
Olsen doesn’t see his demotion as a competition with Brady.
“My success is not dependent on Tom. Just because Tom is really good doesn’t make me any less good, and just because Tom is bad doesn’t make me any better,” Olsen said. “Fox has two top-tier teams, and that’s how I look at it.”
“But I’ve already talked to Joe about this. I want people to think that Joe and I are the best team on television. It doesn’t matter that we’re the B team.”
Familiarity may help Brady improve, as he will call another Dallas game in Week 2 when they host the New Orleans Saints.
