NEW ORLEANS — Greg Olsen told Front Office Sports on Thursday his comments to The Charlotte Observer about wanting to call great games have been “manipulated and misconstrued.” He says he’s grateful for the opportunities given him by Fox.
At the same time, he is not retreating or apologizing for wanting to be the top dog.
“I’ve called a Super Bowl once, I want to call them again. That should not be earth-shattering, headline news for anyone,” Olsen said. “My aspirations of taking this from Day One back in 2021 when I started to today have not changed. I want to call great games.”
But he continued, “My personal aspirations are completely independent and disconnected from my relationship with Fox. My relationship with Fox, and Tom [Brady], and Erin [Burnett], and [Kevin Burkhardt], those are my friends and I want to see them succeed.”
As for Fox, he said, “My relationship with Fox is positive. They know where I stand. They’ve encouraged me to have high aspirations. They’ve encouraged me to try to be as good as I possibly can. So I think some of my comments about wanting to call top games, wherever that is and however that plays out, come across that I want to leave Fox and I hate Fox. That is not true. I’m on the record right now, and I probably need to do a better job communicating … no resentment or animosity towards the people at Fox.”
Olsen had a meteoric rise after his playing career ended, becoming Fox’s No. 1 analyst in just two seasons. The former tight end earned rave reviews for his call of Super Bowl LVII between the Chiefs and Eagles in 2023. But when Tom Brady began his broadcast career with Fox this season, Olsen was dropped to the No. 2 role, where he called lesser games and lost his chance at calling another NFC championship game and Super Bowl.
The situation is a blessing and a curse for Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks. There’s no other NFL TV partner that could boast a one-two TV punch of the winningest player in NFL history—and one of the most talented young game analysts in all sports.
On the other hand, Shanks has to keep a frustrated Olsen from possibly jumping ship to Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, or another network. Or returning to the league as a coach or front-office executive.
The 39-year-old Olsen’s recent interview with The Charlotte Observer set off alarm bells that he was looking to move on to greener pastures. As Olsen told the paper: “In my mind, I’m going to call big-time games again. I’m going to call Super Bowl games again. I just don’t know the timeline or the venue.”
I spoke to Shanks Thursday at Fox’s media day presser. The CEO said he’s delighted with Brady’s public statement that he wants to return to the Fox broadcast booth for Year 2. And that the 47-year-old football legend plans to serve the rest of his contract if not beyond.
“Clearly coming back. We kind of had to put our stake in the ground after some people were doubting the outcome there,” said Shanks. “Look, he’s an incredible teammate and leader. Inspirational to get us fired up about the game that we all love. We want to create new fans. He’s a rookie. But we’re also rookies with him. Figuring out the incredible way he sees the game—and simplifies it.”
Shanks said that during the Fox telecasts that mattered most this season, Brady was at his best.
Meanwhile, the veteran CEO told me he wants to keep Olsen at Fox. Especially since he’s a homegrown talent who was given big opportunities despite limited TV experience.
“100%, want to stay with Greg. Greg’s an incredible teammate. We talked this week. He and I talked about how people kind of blew that comment out of proportion. I said to him, ‘I would actually be upset if you said you didn’t want to do big games,” Shanks said.
How will this sports soap opera play out? If Brady leaves the Fox booth to focus on his ownership role with the Raiders, Olsen could just slide back in next to his longtime friend Burkhardt.
But if Brady continues, it’s hard to see a competitive personality like Olsen staying happy. That’s when I see suitors come knocking. Olsen called one of Netflix’s two Christmas Day games with Noah Eagle. If they get more games, Olsen could be target No. 1.
Olsen’s analytical style would also mesh perfectly with Prime’s coverage of Thursday Night Football. If Kirk Herbstreit gives up his gig to focus on college football, Olsen would be a natural for Jeff Bezos’s company.
