Greg Olsen knows his time on top of the Fox broadcasting hierarchy could be brief.
“Even if I get one year, I am going to try and kill it,” the former Panthers tight end told Dan Patrick on Tuesday. “Make it a fun season and people enjoy our broadcast.”
Olsen’s future with the network was thrown into turmoil when it was announced that Tom Brady would become Fox Sports’ No. 1 analyst when he decides to retire (again). It was believed that Olsen was the favorite for the gig and is fully expected to be in the top spot this year, which includes calling a Super Bowl. The Post’s Andrew Marchand reported that the framework of a deal is in place, though not signed yet.
Brady is set to play in his 23rd NFL season following his brief retirement earlier this year. When he decides to call it a career again — for good, anyway — Brady will become Fox Sports’ lead NFL analyst, agreeing to a monster 10-year, $375 million deal.
Olsen has some advice for soon-to-be player-turned-analyst Tom Brady when the Buccaneers quarterback eventually takes over the top booth at Fox Sports.
Olsen, who made the permanent leap to broadcasting in 2021, spoke about Brady’s future career path Tuesday on “The Dan Patrick Show.” During the conversation, the former Panthers tight end explained how it’s important to keep a certain “balance” in mind when calling games in the respect that the commentary should appease all audiences tuning in.
“The biggest thing that I learned is, for so long, we all see the game a certain way. We sit in meetings and you’re accustomed to coaches and players that speak your language, understand what you mean. There’s a very fine balance calling the games between, you don’t want to dumb it down and take away from the complex nature that makes football so special and so interesting and why people tune in in the millions to watch it,” Olsen said.
“But you also can’t talk on air like I would talk to my coach, or like I would talk to a current player or teammate who understands the language and terminology because you could lose a lot of people, right? So there’s two ends to that spectrum.”
Olsen, who works with Brady’s future teammate, Kevin Burkhardt, said that while he believes the seven-time Super Bowl champ will “do just fine,” understanding the “delicate balance” in commentating was “probably the biggest lesson” he’s learned.
“Threading that needle is a very delicate balance and that was something I really enjoyed. I love pointing out the intricacies of the game, and here’s what we would call it and this is what the receiver is thinking in his mind and whatnot. But then also not going overboard, that everybody’s sitting at home, drinking a beer on a Sunday is lost. They have no idea what I’m talking about. I enjoy that balance of it. So that was probably the biggest lesson I learned. I’m sure Tom will be just fine and probably doesn’t need my advice,” Olsen said.