Greg Olsen Benched for Tom Brady? Fox Just Fumbled the Playoffs 🎤🏈

Greg Olsen Speaks Out: “It Sucks” to Be Brady’s Backup

Greg Olsen has never been one to mince words. So when asked about his demotion at Fox in favor of Tom Brady, the former Panthers great didn’t sugarcoat it.

“It sucks,” Olsen told The Charlotte Observer’s Scott Fowler. “It’s pretty clear that the path, the upward trajectory as far as Fox goes, probably is a nonfactor.”

Translation: Olsen knows he got a raw deal, and he’s not thrilled about it.

For the past few seasons, Olsen has quietly built a reputation as the best analyst in football—sharp, insightful, and always a step ahead of the game. But when Brady signed his $375 million, 10-year contract with Fox, Olsen’s future on the network’s No. 1 broadcast team effectively vanished overnight.

And while Olsen says he doesn’t resent Brady or Fox, he doesn’t deny that it stings. “I don’t think resentment’s probably accurate. But I also think it’s not too far off, if I’m being honest.”

Olsen Isn’t Staying Quiet

Olsen may be stuck in the background, but he isn’t fading away. Throughout the playoffs, he’s dropped not-so-subtle hints that he’s chafing at his new No. 2 role.

Just before Brady’s playoff debut, Olsen shared a ranking from Awful Announcing that placed his own team with Joe Davis as the best broadcast duo in the league—while putting Brady and Kevin Burkhardt dead last at No. 14. Call it petty, call it a flex, but the message was clear.

He also retweeted a post saying, “Greg Olsen is better than Tom Brady at talking football on television.” And when Brady took the mic for his first playoff game, Olsen was busy posting his own analysis, offering fans the kind of insight they were missing on the Fox broadcast.

It’s all a bit like an ex posting gym selfies the day after a breakup—point taken, Greg.

Where Does Olsen Go From Here?

Olsen still has two years left on his Fox contract, but his long-term prospects are murky. Brady has made it clear that he plans to honor his deal, meaning Olsen won’t be getting his No. 1 spot back anytime soon. And with networks like NBC, ESPN, and CBS locked into long-term deals with their top analysts (Collinsworth, Aikman, Romo, Herbstreit), there aren’t many landing spots if he wants to jump ship.

Olsen says he’s happy at Fox—but not this happy. “I’ve been very honest with them that I’m not content just calling one o’clock regional games for the rest of my career.”

And honestly, he shouldn’t be. Fox had a star in Olsen, a guy who made every broadcast smarter and sharper. Instead, they bet on Brady’s name value over Olsen’s substance.

But if we’ve learned anything from Olsen’s career—whether as a player, a broadcaster, or a guy who speaks his mind—it’s that he’s not going to sit back and let someone else take his job without a fight.

This story isn’t over yet.

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Stay with us for the latest on the Panthers, Hornets, Charlotte FC, and more. And if we ever start making bad decisions like Fox Sports, feel free to bench us too.

Jack Beckett
Senior Writer, The Charlotte Mercury
Fueled by coffee, sarcasm, and the eternal hope that Charlotte sports will stop breaking my heart. ☕🏈