Greg Olsen won’t leave the broadcast booth until Fox Sports kicks him out.
The former tight end — whose job as the network’s lead NFL analyst could be in jeopardy when Tom Brady eventually joins the No. 1 game booth — explained his positive perspective and even joked about making headlines over the unique situation.
“Tom Brady — I’m sure you all read those new articles last week, you couldn’t escape it,” Olsen said Wednesday, per Queen City News. “But my answer every time was, ‘I have all the respect in the world for Tom Brady.’ Who doesn’t, right? He’s the greatest, I get it. I understand why they went after him, but I’m not going to roll over and die.
“I’m willing to do what these guys aren’t willing to do. Until they kick me out, I’m gonna sit there and do it. Maybe he does come and take my job one day. I can live with that. I get it. I understand the rules that we all signed up for. I don’t ask for anybody’s sympathy. It’s been awesome.”
Olsen discussed his future with Fox Sports at Charlotte’s Lending Tree in honor of February’s Heart Month, supporting local children’s hospitals.
The 37-year-old Olsen has maintained a positive outlook despite Fox Sports’ future plan to pair his current partner, Kevin Burkhardt, with Brady. The proposed strategy sets up for Olsen to eventually get booted from the network’s top NFL team.
Olsen, who makes $10 million annually as Fox Sports’ lead analyst, would take a major pay cut if he’s demoted to the network’s No. 2 team, per The Post’s Andrew Marchand, who reported Olsen’s salary would decrease to $3 million.
The New Jersey native had a standout season with Fox Sports — and his strong chemistry with Burkhardt carried through Super Bowl 2023 in Arizona, where the Chiefs defeated the Eagles on Feb. 12.
Olsen and Burkhardt took over as Fox’s top NFL broadcast team after Joe Buck and Troy Aikman left for ESPN prior to the 2022 season.
Brady, who signed a 10-year, $375 million deal with Fox Sports in May, said he plans to join the network in 2024.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion confirmed on Feb. 1, that he’s retiring “for good” after 23 seasons in the NFL.
Olsen said last month he is aware of the situation he signed up for with Fox Sports, but did admit that it would “suck” if Brady’s arrival broke up his pairing with Burkhardt.
“We all know the reality,” Olsen said during an appearance on the “Waddle and Silvy” radio show on ESPN 1000 in Chicago. “I know what I signed up for this year. My goal — and I said this before the season even started — my goal was to try to do the best job that I could. Give people a fun listen. Give people maybe a little bit of a different perspective and insight into the game. Do the best job that I can.
“Listen, if Brady ends up retiring and coming, and decides, and that’s how everything unfolds, it sucks. But at the end of the day, I’m a big boy. I know what I signed up for. I took a chance on myself. I rolled the dice. Let’s see how it plays out.”
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