Tom Brady Replaced Greg Olsen as FOX's Lead NFL Analyst — We Give You the "Play by Play"

Every year comes with changes, and the 2024 NFL season is no different. Tom Brady may not be on the field, but he is on the sidelines. He took over for former tight end Greg Olsen as Fox’s lead NFL analyst, commentating on the channel’s top games throughout the season. But despite Tom’s record-breaking MVP career on the field, Greg has proven himself an MVP off the field.

Greg won a Sports Emmy Award for commentating the 2023 NFL season in the “Outstanding Personality — Event Analyst” category. But now that Tom is in the booth as the No. 1 Fox analyst, he’s replaced Greg, who many football fans have lauded as one of the best color commentators in recent history. So what happened to Greg Olsen?

Because Tom has arguably the biggest reputation in American football, he was Fox’s No. 1 pick to be an analyst, and Greg was temporarily filling in for him until he could start. With 17 division titles, nine Super Bowl appearances, and six Super Bowl titles, Tom has broken every NFL record in the book and is considered by many to be the greatest quarterback of all time. It was only fitting, therefore, that he get the best deal possible when looking to his future.

Before he even officially retired, Fox Sports announced that Tom took a future position with them to be the lead analyst. They offered him a $375 million deal over 10 years, which makes him the highest-paid sports commentator of all time. Working alongside former New York Mets commentator Kevin Burkhardt, Fox’s No. 1 play-by-play announcer, it only made sense for Tom to be part of Fox’s team.

Because of Tom’s murky retirement timeline, Greg filled in for Tom until Tom was ready to take over. “Obviously, I’ve known Tom was coming for over two years, a year and a half, whatever you want to call it, and that part of it we always knew,” Greg shared on the Dan Patrick Show.

“It was a matter of when — we didn’t know exactly when the timeline — he ended up not coming this past season, which gave me a second year with Kevin in the booth with the A-team,” Greg added. Greg’s position as the lead analyst was always temporary, but his value for Fox cannot be overstated. Even still, he’s now on the No. 2 commentating team, which means he no longer calls the biggest national games.

While the lead commentating team, which consists of Tom, Kevin, and sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi, will call the most-viewed or most popular games, the No. 2 team’s exposure will vary. Sometimes, there are multiple nationally broadcast games, but other times, they’ll commentate on smaller regional games. The position also likely comes with a minor pay cut for Greg, who’s handled the change with grace.

Greg now works side-by-side with Joe Davis, the No. 2 play-by-play commentator, and sideline reporter Pam Oliver. Although he’s no longer Fox’s No. 1 guy, he still has eyes on commentating the nation’s top games. From opportunities with other networks, such as CBS or NBC, to taking over after Tom’s 10-year contract is up, Greg could continue his legacy as one of the NFL’s best broadcasters.

Ahead of Tom taking the mantle as Fox’s lead analyst, a very meta hype video circulated on social media to get the NFL fans excited. In the video, versions of Tom from the past come back to encourage him in his new role. Despite “living” and “breathing” football, as he says in the video, becoming an analyst is an entirely new position for the former quarterback.

However, people on X (formerly Twitter) have been critical of the video, calling it “unhinged” and unnecessary. Even still, despite some criticism on Tom’s first day in the booth, fans seem excited for the 2024 NFL season.