I said this in the past during one of my combine articles. If there was any player that needed to go to the broadcast booth, it was tight end, Greg Olsen. There was no question that Olsen was a natural and his analysis was on point when breaking down prospects on the field. It felt like only a matter of time before a Network signed him full time. That finally came to fruition.
Greg Olsen has signed a future contract with Fox to be the number two NFL analyst on Fox Sports:
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post was the first to report the news:
“The frenzied NFL TV free-agency market continues to move as Fox Sports has signed All-Pro tight end Greg Olsen to be its future No. 2 NFL game analyst, The Post has learned.
The contract will make Olsen the partner for Kevin Burkhardt after Olsen retires from the NFL. Olsen, 35, was going to leave the game for Fox after last season, but a $7 million contract and a chance to play with Russell Wilson made him change his mind to go to Seattle.
Even after Olsen inked his deal with the Seahawks, Fox Sports executives continued to make a run at him for this season, but will have to settle for after he plays his final game.
If Olsen were to decide to continue playing after this year, Fox would wait for him, according to sources.”
Olsen, 35, is currently in Seattle playing on a one-year contract worth $7 million. My guess is that 2020 is his final season in the NFL. Olsen battled serious injuries in 2019 and it sounds like he probably would have made the jump to the media sooner if Seattle didn’t step up with that offer.
This sounds eerily similar to what NBC did with Drew Brees. The Saints signal caller can play however long he wants but his TV contract with NBC will begin as soon as he retires.
The funniest part of this story is that ESPN continues to have an unresolved Monday Night Football broadcast team. It remains unclear if ESPN got in the mix for Olsen but whatever the case, they still don’t have defined plays for MNF. That’s how far ESPN has fallen.
