Tom Brady signed with Fox to become its lead NFL analyst in May of 2022. We’re now just a little more than a month away from Brady finally making his debut in the booth.
As a result of Brady moving into Fox’s No. 1 spot with Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, who has been Burkhardt’s partner for the last three years, the last two seasons as Fox’s top crew, will move into the No. 2 booth with Joe Davis.
With the 2024 NFL season not far away, what is Olsen thinking about the transition? Has Brady reached out to Olsen for broadcasting advice?
I asked Olsen these questions and more on this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast.
“I think everyone is excited to see what it’s going to be like, what’s his perspective gonna be, what’s his style going to be,” Olsen said on the podcast. “I have zero animosity, ill will for Tom. I’ve tried to be as much of a resource as possible. He’s been tremendously professional and respectful of me and my situation. As far as our dynamic and whatnot, it’s been great.”
Olsen has gotten to know Brady more over the last few months and spent time with him at the Fox Sports seminar in Los Angeles recently, which has been a different setting than when he was competing against Brady. “It’s cool to see the human side of him and just kick back and hang and just get to kind of know him and whatnot,” Olsen said.
And yes, Brady has picked Olsen’s brain for broadcasting tips, what he’s learned in the broadcasting industry three seasons in and how things look different now than when he first started as an analyst.
“There is an element of, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know,’ and I think he’s doing a really nice job picking people’s brains and getting people’s opinions and obviously he’s got the best partner you could ask for, especially for somebody learning the industry in Kevin, which was kind of my biggest advice,” Olsen said. “I was like, when all else fails, just ask Kevin and just do what he says because that’s what I’ve done for the last three years, and it served me very well.
“He’s been very open-minded, he’s been very respectful, been very thoughtful and engaging. He’s been great.”
In addition to all things broadcasting, Olsen also talked about going viral thanks to a photo of him at Christian McCaffrey and Olivia Culpo’s wedding, the GOAT tight end, and whether he should’ve been asked to do the Tom Brady roast.