NFL insider weighs in on Tom Brady, Greg Olsen situation at Fox

Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated recently suggested that Fox could team NFL play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt with both Tom Brady and Greg Olsen next season rather than have Brady replace Olsen in the No. 1 booth as is expected. 

NFL insider Peter King of NBC Sports explained during an appearance on "The Dan Patrick Show" how Traina's idea could blow up in the faces of Fox executives. 

"The three-man booth is a totally different animal," King said, as shared by Bridget Hyland of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "Brady obviously is making, whatever it is, $37M, and it would kind of seem absurd that the guy who everybody right now thinks is one of the best or the best (Olsen), making a quarter of what the big star is making and outshining him in the booth. It would just be pretty weird to me." 

While Olsen has become widely popular among fans and media members for his work alongside Burkhardt, Brady reportedly is set to earn $375M from Fox via a 10-year deal. To compare, it's been said that Olsen's salary will drop from $10M to $3M once Brady begins calling games for the network next season. 

King also shot down the notion that Fox's ratings will somehow skyrocket with Brady serving as the network's No. 1 analyst over Olsen. During Brady's "gap year" away from the NFL, the league accounted for 93 of the country's 100 most-watched programs. 

"I don’t know who actually looks at a game and says, 'I’m more eager to watch this because I love the analyst,'" King added. "Maybe some people did that with John Madden. But I tend to think the vast, vast, vast majority are going to tune in if Bozo the Clown is the analyst on the game." 

Brady confirmed Tuesday he has already practiced working with Burkhardt in the main booth, and there's no sign that Fox would consider asking the seven-time Super Bowl champion to share analyst duties with Olsen. For better or for worse, viewers should get used to the idea of Olsen being relegated to the No. 2 game spot next fall.