On his way out of Fox's top analyst spot for Tom Brady, Greg Olsen wins another Emmy
No pressure, Tom. None whatsoever.
Broadcasting newbie Tom Brady was already stepping into a tough spot after being handed the job at Fox that Greg Olsen had done to much public acclaim. Complicating the stakes, and adding to the awkwardness, Olsen won another Emmy for the job that he has lost to a bigger name who might not be a better broadcaster.
Olsen secured the award last night. As noted by AwfulAnnouncing.com, the others nominated in the category were Cris Collinsworth, Troy Aikman, Bill Raftery, John Smoltz, and Tom Verducci.
It was Olsen's second straight win in the category of Outstanding Personality/Event Analyst.
"I think there's a lot of people wondering what I'm gonna say right now," Olsen said to start his acceptance speech.
"I don't know what the future holds," he said later. "All I know is I love talking football, I love talking ball. I love studying it. I love seeing where the game is going. Wherever that takes me, whatever level it is, I'm more committed to the game of football now. My wife allows me to chase this every weekend after 15 years of a weird life of moving all around the country playing the game now I fly around the country calling a game."
Fox posted congratulations to Olsen on X. The replies are worth the price of admission.
Olsen reportedly will move to the Fox No. 2 team with Joe Davis. Olsen's pay reportedly will plunge from $10 million per year to $3 million, while Brady gets $37.5 million.
Olsen will surely be a candidate for the top spot at another network, whenever a top spot comes open. Which doesn't happen often.
The Emmy win adds to the mess Fox has created for itself by chasing a name, throwing a giant bag of cash at him, and putting him in an impossible situation. On many weekends this year, Olsen will inevitably be working the 1:00 p.m. ET game that goes into the biggest chunk of the country, and Brady will do the game at 4:25 p.m. ET. It will create the ultimate apples-to-apples comparison for football fans who plug into the NFL matrix on Sunday afternoons.
It will be interesting to see what happens next year, when the folks at the Emmys announce the nominees in that same category. Will Olsen win it a third straight time from the No. 2 spot at Fox? Will Brady even be nominated?
The Brady name and aura will help his cause, in some circles. It will hurt his cause in others. At some point, it will come down to two very simple things: (1) what he says; and (2) how it sounds. That's something that is completely independent of who the person is and what the person has accomplished in any other arena.
