Greg Olsen again discusses Tom Brady 'looming' over Fox job

Fox lead NFL analyst Greg Olsen recently appeared on the ESPN Chicago "Waddle and Silvy" program and, as has become somewhat of a tradition, once again discussed likely losing his spot to retired quarterback Tom Brady beginning next season. 

"My respect for him and all that is never going to change," Olsen said about Brady, as shared by the Barrett Sports Media website. "I understand the situation. I understand him looming over the job. From the moment I took it, I knew that would come with the territory and I was OK with that." 

It was learned a couple of months after Brady publicly announced his un-retirement in March 2022 that he and Fox agreed to a 10-year deal reportedly worth $375M that includes TB12 replacing Olsen as the network's lead in-game analyst. 

Even though San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan seemingly wanted Brady to start over Brock Purdy this season, the 46-year-old stayed retired and, by all accounts, plans to begin working for Fox later this year. 

"I was confident in myself that I could take advantage of this opportunity for as long as it lasted," Olsen continued during the interview. "We went into it thinking it would be one year, ended up being two years. I got twice as much and we will see if there is a third. We will see what happens." 

Olsen and Fox lead play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt have the assignment for this Sunday's NFC Championship game between the Detroit Lions and 49ers held at San Francisco's Levi's Stadium. 

CBS owns the broadcast rights for Super Bowl LVIII, meaning the conference title clash could be the last time Olsen works alongside Burkhardt before Brady joins Fox. 

"My goal is to call the best games at the highest level as long as I can," Olsen added. "That was my goal when I came into it three years ago and that remains my goal after doing it for two years and calling a Super Bowl and some of the highest-rated games in NFL history over the last two years. That’s my goal, and we will see how the rest will shake out. It’s kind of out of my control." 

Considering network analyst jobs for "the best games" of an NFL season are occupied, Olsen may have to decide if hitting the open market as a free agent following Super Bowl LVIII makes sense as it pertains to his long-term objectives.