For years, Sunday afternoons belonged to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, a pairing so familiar that fans could recognize it by cadence alone. Then Buck left for ESPN, Aikman followed, and FOX handed the keys to Greg Olsen and Kevin Burkhardt. Now both chapters of that story may be reaching a turning point at once, with Olsen reportedly nearing a FOX exit.
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“FOX has not had any negotiations with Greg Olsen about a contract beyond this season, per industry sources,” veteran sportswriter Richard Deitsch reported on X. “Olsen’s contract expires at the end of this NFL season. Something notable is Olsen had exploratory talks with CBS Sports two years ago. He’s already called a Super Bowl and enjoys critical praise. Would be a very attractive free agent.”
Greg Olsen officially transitioned to a full-time broadcasting career with Fox Sports in 2021, after his retirement from the NFL. However, the groundwork for his hiring was a multi-year process that began while he was still an active player.
In 2017, while playing for the Carolina Panthers, Olsen took advantage of a bye week to serve as a guest game analyst for a Week 11 matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was only the third active player in Fox Sports history to do this.
In July 2020, while signed to play his final NFL season with the Seattle Seahawks, Olsen signed a unique, future-facing contract with Fox Sports. The contract guaranteed that the moment he decided to retire from football, he would immediately join the network as their No. 2 NFL game analyst.
On January 24, 2021, after a 14-year career, Olsen officially announced his retirement from the NFL live on the Fox NFL Sunday pregame show. He immediately transitioned into his full-time broadcasting role for the 2021 NFL season, where he was officially paired with Kevin Burkhardt and reporter Pam Oliver.
Greg Olsen has repeatedly expressed his desire to return to a No. 1 booth. However, with Tom Brady locked into a massive 10-year, $375 million deal as Fox’s lead analyst, there is no structural path for Olsen to reclaim the top chair at the network.
Because Olsen is currently functioning as Fox’s No. 2 analyst (which triggered a major salary reduction from $10 million to $3 million annually), his contract contains an exit provision allowing him to break the deal for a top job.
And according to Richard Deitsch, Olsen will soon be in Troy Aikman’s position at the end of the season. As such, Aikman’s contract with ESPN is in the final year of a 5-year, $90 million deal ($18M/year), which will end after Super Bowl LXI.
But as of now, both Greg Olsen and Troy Aikman are actively calling games in their respective roles for the 2026 NFL season.