Greg Olsen, a former tight-end for the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers, became a full-time color commentator, working at Fox's NFL coverage with Kevin Burkhardt during the 2021 NFL season. After Joe Buck and Troy Aikman left Fox to join ESPN to call Monday Night Football, these two were promoted to the No. 1 broadcasting team for the 2022 season. Both Kevin and Greg broadcast the Super Bowl LVII broadcast for the 2022 NFL season and remained the No. 1 broadcasting team last year.
Because Tom Brady was available for Fox's NFL coverage, they hired him in 2024 to become Fox's No. 1 broadcasting team. As a reminder, Tom signed with Fox Sports on a 10-year $375 million contract this year. For those who are math-challenged, Brady will earn $1.875 million per game if he broadcasts twenty NFL games per season. That's a good gig if you can secure it, especially for someone without any broadcasting experience. Is this style over substance? We'll find out soon enough.
As Brady entered the NFL broadcasting picture at Fox, Greg Olsen was demoted as Fox's No. 2 broadcasting two team, sharing the booth with play-by-play announcer Joe Davis. Greg Olsen will make $3 million this year, down from $10 million in 2023. Sometimes, talent and performance appear to take a back seat to fame and glitz. Indeed, it doesn't appear that meritocracy was in play here. Does it seem right that someone who does an excellent job as an NFL analyst and provides insightful analysis during Super Bowl LVII gets demoted? Hearing this switch reminds me of that adage: It's not necessarily about what you know but who you know.
For over 23 seasons, Brady learned to be coy with reporters and not provide too much information to benefit his opponent. Indeed, he learned much of this philosophy from Bill Belichick, who typically disdained reporters' questions when he didn't feel like responding. Because Tom has switched roles and is part of the media, he must do the opposite of not providing much information to the sports media. Brady must learn to share interesting and pertinent information while being the highest-paid NFL analyst in NFL history.
Over one year ago, Raiders owner Mark Davis announced that Tom had agreed to buy a stake in the franchise. However, it wasn't until mid-October of '24 that the NFL owners voted to approve the purchase. According to Davis, Brady's status as an NFL analyst for Fox contributed to this delay. Even though Brady only purchased five percent of the Las Vegas Raiders, there are specific rules he has to follow. Those rules include not visiting other teams' facilities or watching their practices, not attending production meetings, and not criticizing officials or other teams. Brady is also now subject to the NFL's gambling and anti-tampering policies. It will be interesting to see how the NFL enforces these rules if Brady doesn't follow them. Because of his status, will the NFL be more lenient with him?
You must be concise with your input and analysis as an NFL analyst. There's a 40-second play clock, but analysts often have ten seconds to make a point. Make it pertinent, clear, concise, and then get out of the way. Other analysts like Tony Romo or Kirk Herbstreit are familiar with this cadence. Really good analysts often will be forming their commentary before the play is over. Sometimes, really good analysts will predict the actual play based up how the offensive team is aligned. If an analyst wants to tell a longer story, they need to choose more appropriate times in the game to do so. Getting in and out is something Brady needs to work on, and I'm sure the Fox producers are helping him with this challenging part of broadcasting.
I don't know Greg Olsen, although I've seen him in public while he played for the Chicago Bears. He seems genuine and down-to-earth, and his analysis during an NFL game is quite good. However, it must professionally sting to be demoted in favor of Tom Brady, while Greg excelled as a broadcaster at Fox. He is concise and points out interesting things as an analyst, and it's sad to see this occur. Even though Olsen was demoted, he handled it with class and without controversy. I know Brady is a very handsome star and was likely in demand as a broadcaster despite his inexperience. Still, his contract has temporarily disrupted the top NFL broadcasters at Fox. What does Tom think about this? He knew Olsen would be demoted, but would having someone's salary reduced by over 300% shock any professional broadcaster? Did Brady try to negotiate less to ensure Greg's salary stayed the same? Would you? Especially if you had Brady's financial portfolio. Is it merely about trying to get as much blood from a turnip or ensure that your new gig doesn't harm the other broadcasters at Fox?
Again I ask, "Now as a Broadcaster, is Tom Brady Disingenuous?"
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