Media insider has Greg Olsen, Tom Brady suggestion for Fox

It's widely assumed that Fox lead NFL analyst Greg Olsen will lose his chair to retired quarterback Tom Brady next season because of the 10-year deal reportedly worth $375M that Brady and Fox agreed to following the 2021 campaign. 

Media insider Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated suggested in a column published on Friday that both Olsen and Brady could work alongside play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt this coming fall. 

"This might not make sense financially because Brady is getting paid a ton and if Olsen remains a No. 1 guy, he gets a hefty paycheck," Traina wrote. "But this might be Fox’s best bet so they avoid the backlash of demoting Olsen. It would also take the target off Brady’s back because, whether Brady turns out to be a great analyst, people are going to automatically be down on Brady over the perception that he bumped Olsen." 

While Olsen repeatedly has hinted he understands this Sunday's NFC Championship Game between the Detroit Lions and San Francisco 49ers will be the last time he works in Fox's top commentary booth, he interestingly said in a recent interview that "we will see what happens" beyond the final weekend of January. 

CBS has the broadcast rights for Super Bowl LVIII. 

There's no indication Brady is having second thoughts about joining Fox even though he seemingly could land a job as a QB1 for a contender at some point before the 2024 season. For what it's worth, neither Traina nor any other media reporters have been able to lock down Fox's intentions for Week 1 in September.

"If I had to guess, I’d say as of today, Fox doesn’t even know what it’s going to do with Olsen next season," Traina explained. 

Back in October, Chris Novak of Awful Announcing mentioned that multiple NFL media partners featured three-man booths in the past. Fox embracing the idea for at least one season could be best for everyone involved, especially if there are any signs this summer that Brady won't be a top-tier broadcaster on his first day in the booth.