Before the 2022 NFL season, when Greg Olsen stepped into FOX’s lead NFL analyst role, he knew the promotion wouldn’t last. At the time, FOX needed someone to replace Troy Aikman after his move to ESPN, but the network had already committed to Tom Brady on a 10-year, $375 million deal. Even so, Olsen made the most of the opportunity and earned rave reviews for his work during Super Bowl LVII. Still, when Brady was ready to begin his broadcasting career in 2024, Olsen was pushed out of the role.

FOX gave Brady a position in their No. 1 crew and pushed Olsen to the No. 2 crew. At the time, Olsen admitted the demotion felt like an “ego hit,” but he handled the transition professionally. Now, although Olsen is unlikely to claim the No. 1 analyst position at FOX again, he has picked up a major win over Brady.

At the 47th Sports Emmy Awards on Tuesday, Olsen won the “Outstanding Personality/Event Analyst” award. He prevailed in a category that included NFL stars like Tom Brady, Brady Quinn, Daryl Johnston, Drew Brees, Jonathan Vilma, Matt Millen, Mark Schlereth, and Robert Griffin III. This was also Olsen’s third Emmy win, and he had won the same award in 2024.

Last year, too, Olsen had received a nomination in this category while Brady did not. But Brady’s longtime on-field rival, Peyton Manning, took home the award. Still, Olsen’s latest Emmy win reignites the debate surrounding FOX’s broadcasting hierarchy.

After playing as a tight end for 14 seasons in the NFL, Olsen became one of the best analysts in the NFL. Fans consistently praise Olsen’s ability to explain complex plays in simple terms and his genuine insight during NFL games. Meanwhile, Tom Brady retired after the 2022 season, sat out a year, and entered broadcasting with enormous expectations. In his rookie season in the booth, Brady received mixed reviews, but his analysis improved by the end of last season.

But Brady has seven Super Bowl rings, celebrity status, and a global brand, which catapulted him into the No. 1 analyst position at FOX. Still, objectively, many still see Olsen as a better analyst than Brady, but that has apparently not led to animosity between the two.

“There’s this idea that there’s this personal animosity and competition,” Olsen said during an appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast last year. “There’s not. My relationship with Tom, FOX, Joe Davis, Burkhardt, and all my people at FOX couldn’t be better.

“On the other parallel line to that, yes, I want to ascend in the industry, and I’m sure Joe Davis wants to call Super Bowls as well, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like Burkhardt. Any motivated guy you want to be the best at what you do. That is not a knock on the people who are ahead of you.”

If Brady and Peyton Manning could stay friends despite years of battling for championships, why can’t Olsen and Brady coexist at the same network? Still, Olsen has experienced calling the biggest games and has earned praise for his work. So, his latest Emmy could finally push Olsen to look for a place that values him more than FOX. 

Is Greg Olsen looking for other opportunities away from FOX?

After FOX demoted Olsen, reports revealed that his salary dropped from around $10 million to $3 million annually. Even so, he has never publicly criticized Tom Brady or FOX. But Olsen has made one thing very clear: he still wants to call the biggest games every NFL season.

“I still seek to go out and reach the highest levels of this profession, and in no means does that mean that I want it to be at the expense of Tom,” Olsen said at an event with Front Office Sports last September. “And Tom wants to continue to ascend and achieve everything he wants, that doesn’t have to come at the expense of me. My success is not contingent on Tom’s failure, and vice versa.

“I’m thankful for FOX. They believed in me. I want to be very crystal clear. Do I want to call the top games? Of course. We all have aspirations to be as good as we possibly can, or else we’re wasting our time.”

Olsen reportedly has one year remaining on his FOX contract, but most networks already have established lead NFL analysts. So, earlier this year, Olsen was also willing to work in a front office position. For now, though, he remains behind Brady on FOX’s analyst depth chart while waiting for another top opportunity to emerge. As for Brady, he’ll need to work even harder this year to prove that he can be the top voice for one of the NFL’s biggest networks.