SI

Greg Olsen: ‘I Have Zero Animosity, Ill Will’ Toward Tom Brady at Fox

Olsen, who will be replaced by Brady as Fox’s No. 1 NFL analyst this season, describes his relationship with the former QB.

Jimmy Traina

“As far as our dynamic and whatnot, it's been great,” Olsen says of working with Brady so far at Fox.
“As far as our dynamic and whatnot, it's been great,” Olsen says of working with Brady so far at Fox. / Denny Medley/USA TODAY Sports (Olsen); Candice Ward/USA TODAY Sports (Brady)

1. Tom Brady signed with Fox to become its lead NFL analyst in May of 2022. We’re now just a little more than a month away from Brady finally making his debut in the booth.

As a result of Brady moving into Fox’s No. 1 spot with Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, who has been Burkhardt’s partner for the last three years, the last two seasons as Fox’s top crew, will move into the No. 2 booth with Joe Davis.

With the 2024 NFL season not far away, what is Olsen thinking about the transition? Has Brady reached out to Olsen for broadcasting advice?

I asked Olsen these questions and more on this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast.

“I think everyone is excited to see what it’s going to be like, what’s his perspective gonna be, what’s his style going to be,” Olsen said on the podcast. “I have zero animosity, ill will for Tom. I’ve tried to be as much of a resource as possible. He’s been tremendously professional and respectful of me and my situation. As far as our dynamic and whatnot, it’s been great.”

Olsen has gotten to know Brady more over the last few months and spent time with him at the Fox Sports seminar in Los Angeles recently, which has been a different setting than when he was competing against Brady. “It’s cool to see the human side of him and just kick back and hang and just get to kind of know him and whatnot,” Olsen said.

And yes, Brady has picked Olsen’s brain for broadcasting tips, what he’s learned in the broadcasting industry three seasons in and how things look different now than when he first started as an analyst.

“There is an element of, ‘You don’t know what you don't know,’ and I think he’s doing a really nice job picking people’s brains and getting people’s opinions and obviously he’s got the best partner you could ask for, especially for somebody learning the industry in Kevin, which was kind of my biggest advice,” Olsen said. “I was like, when all else fails, just ask Kevin and just do what he says because that's what I’ve done for the last three years, and it served me very well.

“He’s been very open-minded, he’s been very respectful, been very thoughtful and engaging. He’s been great.”

In addition to all things broadcasting, Olsen also talked about going viral thanks to a photo of him at Christian McCaffrey and Olivia Culpo’s wedding, the GOAT tight end, and whether he should’ve been asked to do the Tom Brady roast.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel

2. Charles Barkley—who said he will be retiring after the 2024–25 NBA season, which will be the final one for TNT’s coverage—released a statement Friday on the NBA going with Amazon over Warner Bros. Discovery.

3. The Mets beat the Braves on a bizarre walk-off thanks to Atlanta right fielder Ramón Laureano overrunning a fly ball. This led to must-see reactions from New York broadcasters Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling.

4. Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean did not have a good experience with the tradition of rookies having to sing for the team. DeJean attempted to tackle Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” and bombed.

To cleanse your palate after watching DeJean, here’s Aidan Hutchinson giving an all-time performance of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” as a Lions rookie.

5. I missed this last week, but it still holds up. Here are the (mostly) outrageous prices for a hot dog at each MLB ballpark.

6. No one should ever be this confident in the New York Jets.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Billy Joel performed his 150th show, the final of his residency at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. His special guest for the night was Axl Rose.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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