Greg Olsen Wins Another Sports Emmy, But Fox Made Right Move Giving Tom Brady His Gig
Former NFL tight end Greg Olsen made a seamless transition from the playing field to the announcing booth after joining Fox following his retirement from the league. But Tom Brady became available, which gave the network no choice but to replace Olsen.
On Tuesday night, Olsen captured the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Personality/Event Analyst. Essentially, for being the best color analyst in sports.
It was the second consecutive year that Olsen captured the award.
Many people on social media, and websites that cover sports media, mocked Fox Sports for congratulating Olsen, since they also demoted him in favor of Tom Brady. Many of those posts called the congratulations "awkward."
Full disclosure: Fox owns OutKick. But don't let that make you think that the opinion I'm about to deliver is influenced by that. It isn't.
Personally, I think Fox had no choice but to make the decision that it made. TOM FREAKING BRADY was a TV free agent. He was the biggest prize in sports media, perhaps ever. He's the greatest quarterback of all-time and his insight into NFL games is going to prove invaluable to the network.
And judging off of the recent "Roast of Tom Brady," he plans to bring humor and personality to the booth. Could it fail? Sure. Will it? I highly doubt it. All the reports coming out about Brady are that he is approaching this new job just like he approached his last: with his full attention.
He's already contacting people at Fox to learn the ins-and-outs, months ahead of his first game in the booth. He's trying to learn as much as he can about an industry that is relatively new. That's admirable and will pay off big time for Fox and for Brady come September.
Tom Brady is set to replace Greg Olsen on Fox's #1 NFL team in the 2024 season.
(Nic Antaya/UFL/Getty Images)
Fox elected to replace two-time Sports Emmy winner Greg Olsen on NFL broadcasts, but had no choice: Tom Brady was available.
Now, back to Olsen. I don't think it's "awkward" at all for the network to congratulate its employee for winning an award. Olsen isn't going anywhere, at least not yet. He'll be calling Fox's second-biggest game of the week each Sunday this fall and winter.
In fact, that gives Fox, arguably, the two best announcing teams on Sundays. I'd still take Joe Buck and Troy Aikman as No. 1 in the power rankings, and surely no one will argue with me on that (I kid, of course). And should Brady need to take a week or two off here and there, Olsen will slide in seamlessly.
Greg Olsen is a terrific broadcaster, and he does a great job in the booth. But no one is tuning in to hear him call an NFL game. That's not a dig at Olsen either; almost no analyst has that kind of power.
But you know who does? Tom Brady. Fans and media are going to dissect every word that comes out of Brady's mouth on Sundays. Plus, Brady is likely to appear on Fox programming to talk about the NFL. He's going to draw unprecedented attention to the league and the network by his mere presence.
That's why Fox made the right move. Does it stink for Olsen, who's been an excellent professional? Sure. But it's not like the network said, "hey thanks for your great work, but you're out of here."
Fox NFL analyst Greg Olsen won a Sports Emmy for his outstanding work, but he's going to be replaced by Tom Brady this season. There's no problem with that.
(Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
There was only one scenario where Greg Olsen didn't remain on the #1 NFL team at Fox, and that was if Tom Brady signed with the company. Brady did just that.
Can you honestly say you're not curious to hear Tom Brady call a football game? I don't know anyone who isn't.
Greg Olsen is going to be fine. He's a terrific analyst and now a two-time Sports Emmy winner. He has a bright career ahead of him. But he doesn't possess the ceiling that Tom Brady does. No one does.
But sports media is a business like any other. Fox had to make a business decision. And, as much as some people might complain or argue, they made the correct decision.