Greg Olsen is experiencing the broadcasting equivalent of being on the sidelines and isn’t a fan of it.
The former NFL tight-end turned announcer will be watching Super Bowl 59 like the rest of us rather than his preferred alternative. Olsen found a home in the broadcast booth, becoming one of the more likable and informative people to put on the headset in the league right now.
He is just two years removed from calling Super Bowl 57, earning rave reviews amongst the viewing audience. Now, the 39-year-old Olsen is on the bench at Fox Sports, replaced by Tom Brady in the analyst chair for the network’s top NFL announcing team.
“In my mind, I’m going to call big-time games again,” Olsen told the Charlotte Observer in an interview Monday. “I’m going to call Super Bowl games again. I just don’t know the timeline or the venue.”
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Olsen was demoted to Fox’s No. 2 team following Brady’s arrival at the network. He was paired with Joe Davis, the voice of MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers and the World Series on Fox. With that move came a significant pay cut, dropping his salary from $10 million to $3 million, according to the New York Post.
His former partner, Kevin Burkhardt, is set to call the Super Bowl in New Orleans alongside Brady. Burkhardt and Olsen served as Fox’s No. 2 team before rising to the top spot after Joe Buck and Troy Aikman departed for ESPN.
Olsen has made it clear that he’s not a fan of being No. 2 again.
“It’s pretty clear that the path, the upward trajectory as far as Fox goes, probably is a non-factor,’ he said. ‘I don’t know what the future holds. I enjoy working at Fox. Fox has been very good to me. They know. I’ve been very honest with them that I’m not content just calling one o’clock regional games for the rest of my career.”
However, despite his unhappiness, Olsen isn’t holding it against Brady.
“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. 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. 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.’”
With just two years left on his contract at Fox, it will remains to be seen where Olsen might head next if the top job doesn’t open again at his current employer.
Fox has Brady for nine more years to finish off a10-year, $375 million contract. ESPN has Aikman. CBS has Tony Romo. NBC has Cris Collinsworth.
None appear to be on the move anytime soon, especially after NBC reportedly inked Collinsworth to an extension through the 2030 Super Bowl, according to The Athletic.
The next NFL rights deal isn’t until 2032 when Amazon is expected to bid for the rights to the big game.
With each of the four networks that broadcast Super Bowls having a long-term commitment to its top analysts, it’s hard to see Olsen’s path forward.
While it’s a long shot at best, the clearest path forward is Brady stepping away to become more involved with his ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. However, despite the controversy surrounding his involvement there, he has given no indication of that happening.
Olsen compared his two years as the No. 1 analyst to having nice accommodations.
“It’s like you stay at a really nice hotel,” Olsen said. “And until you stayed at that hotel, you’re like: ‘I’m good anywhere.’”
Time will tell if he ever returns to living a life of luxury. At the very least, he surely has enough reward points by now.