Former player shares harsh truth about Tom Brady replacing Greg Olsen at Fox
Former NFL offensive lineman and current media personality Geoff Schwartz shared a harsh truth about Fox replacing fan-favorite lead in-game analyst Greg Olsen with living legend Tom Brady later this year.
“Tom Brady, I think he’s gonna be good by the way, he can talk about things I can’t talk about,” Schwartz explained during a recent appearance on the “Short and to the Point” podcast, as shared by Robert O’Neill of Awful Announcing. “I didn’t win the Super Bowl. I don’t know what that feels like. I don’t know what preparing for the Super Bowl feels like. It doesn’t mean you can’t broadcast, but I understand the point of hiring someone who can talk about those specific instances.”
While Olsen became an award-winning broadcaster on Fox’s top team, Brady signed a 10-year deal reportedly worth $375M following the 2021 season to eventually become the network’s No. 1 analyst.
As a tight end, Olsen was part of the Carolina Panthers squad that lost Super Bowl 50 to the Denver Broncos, and he ultimately retired without a championship on his resume. Brady, of course, is a seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback and is widely regarded as the GOAT.
“I had a buddy who was at NBC Sports, I met him in New York when I was with the Giants,” Schwartz recalled about the early days of his media career. “He was one of the people who hired for NBC Sports. And he said, ‘Look man, here’s the honest truth. I can’t put you on a major program at the Super Bowl, because you didn’t play in the Super Bowl.’ And I get the logic of that. I would do well on that telecast, but I get it.”
As much as diehard football fans enjoyed Olsen’s work over the past couple of seasons, Fox executives are hoping that Brady’s presence will attract casual viewers who have previously focused on “NFL RedZone” broadcasts, CBS games or non-football-related events on Sunday afternoons.
Brady seems dedicated to serving as Fox’s lead analyst on a full-time basis beginning in September, so fans will have to get used to Olsen working on the network’s No. 2 NFL crew through at least January 2025.
