Greg Olsen is keeping Tom Brady's seat warm.
If it's possible for a broadcaster to have a breakout season, Olsen, the Fox color analyst, demonstrated just that throughout 2022. The former NFL tight end has made watching playoff games more enjoyable for his insight and composure (which is more than what you can say for some other top-team analysts).
Now, though, Olsen has some different competition, and it's not coming from another network. With Brady officially announcing his retirement (again) on Feb. 1, many are curious of what comes next for Olsen.
The early answer is: Fox has an offseason to figure it out, but Brady will land in the top spot on the network at some point in the near future.
.@TomBrady made $58.4 million in 2022, making him the world's 16th highest-paid athlete. A lot of that will continue in retirement, but the big Q now is:
— Eben Novy-Williams (@novy_williams) February 1, 2023
Does Brady rush into his $375 million @FOXSports deal? What does Fox do with him? Does Greg Olsen's success change the plan? pic.twitter.com/ltOfkIjbnS
MORE: Why did Tom Brady retire?
It's not a surprise that Brady will land on the A-team of Fox alongside Kevin Burkhardt when he joins the network in 2023 on a full-time basis. His 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox dictates as much. It's just a matter of when that might happen.
I know Tom Brady will come in at $37.5 million per at some point, and he's gonna be on Fox's A team, obviously, because of it. But Greg Olsen's done freaking awesome in his first year on the big games, and doesn't deserve a demotion.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) January 23, 2023
Reports from earlier in 2022 indicate that Fox is hot after Brady to join their Super Bowl 57 coverage in some capacity. With Olsen locked in next to play-by-play man Burkhardt for Super Bowl 57, the booth may be a bit tight for Brady (and his wallet) to join.
To that end, Olsen is bracing for impact. In a recent interview, the Fox color man said it's going to "suck" to see Brady gunning for the top spot when he retires, but that he's ready for it.
Greg Olsen says it would "suck" if Tom Brady retires which could push him out of his FOX broadcasting booth.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 25, 2023
Hopefully FOX makes it a 3-man booth because @gregolsen88 is excellent. Possibly the best in the game right now in my opinion.pic.twitter.com/9S8CD1M2te
"Listen, if Brady ends up retiring and coming and decides 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," Olsen said. … "I hope Brady signs a five-year deal with somebody, I'll be the first guy there, I'll give them some cap room to make it work. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there, I guess."
MORE: When is Tom Brady eligible for the Hall of Fame?
In another interview with The Athletic's Richard Deitsch, Olsen expounded on the thoughts, saying he'd love to keep the job for 20 years:
In regard to Tom, if he comes in and he takes it. I get it. I don’t ask anyone to feel bad for me. And I’m not going to feel bad for myself. Will I be disappointed? Would I rather sit next to Kevin for the next 20 years? Of course. I’m not going to sit here and sound stupid and be like, “You know, just doing this for one year was plenty.” Like, no, screw that. I’d like to do this for 20 years. I’d like to call 10 Super Bowls. Whether that happens or not, I don’t know. I don’t control it. But the second I spend all my energy worrying about what Tom does and worrying about my job security and who’s going to be in my seat, then I’m not going to be very effective. I just don’t know how else to describe it. I’ve come to grips with it, and I’m going to make it hard as hell on them to try to replace me.
There's a possibility that Olsen may be wooed by other networks for their top color analyst spot, with NBC a potential fit as an aging Cris Collinsworth may need an heir apparent in the coming years. The New York Post's Andrew Marchand floated Olsen's name out there as a potential future replacement for Collinsworth.
Before Olsen is going to replace anyone, though, he may be replaced.