Whenever recently retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady enters the FOX broadcast booth, he could cost Greg Olsen millions of dollars.
Prior to the end of the 2022 NFL season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement from football, for real this time. He even wrote a letter to the NFL and NFL Player’s Association informing them that he is retired. With this news, Brady will move onto the next chapter of his life, and that’s his broadcasting career with FOX.
In the days leading up to Super Bowl 57, Brady revealed that he will not debut in the broadcast booth until 2024. That will be when his 10-year, $375 million contract with the company kicks in, where he will be the lead NFL analyst for the network. That would subsequently push former Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears tight end Greg Olsen from the top team to the second team. As it turns out, that is quite costly.
According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post (subscription required), Olsen is currently making $10 million per year being on the top NFL broadcast team with Kevin Burkhardt. When Brady does take over, Olsen will see his salary drop to $3 million per year to be on the second team.
Tom Brady’s move to FOX could cost Greg Olsen $7 million
That’s a full $7 million drop in salary per year for Olsen, who is under contract through the 2026 season. Marchand writes that with Brady planning to take over in 2024, Olsen would make $29 million over the five-year span.
Last offseason, when Brady announced that he was returning from his initial retirement, his contract with FOX was revealed. Brady suffered the first losing season of his career as a starter with an 8-9 record with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Although they did win the NFC South title and clinched a playoff berth, they were eliminated in the Wild Card Round following a 31-14 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Shortly after, Brady announced his second retirement from the league.
Olsen has received rave reviews for his commentary throughout the 2022 season with Burkhardt. They recently called Super Bowl 57, which saw the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35.
For the 2023 season, it will be Olsen and Burkhardt as FOX’s top commentary team. From there, Brady will step up, while Olsen moves down to the second commentary team.