Congratulations are for FOX analyst and Carolina Panthers legend, Greg Olsen, who won his third Sports Emmy award for Outstanding Personality/Event Analyst on Tuesday night at Lincoln Center. 

Greg Olsen won over fellow FOX analyst Tom Brady, who is considered the No.1 analyst. Brady earns approximately 12 times more than Olsen’s annual salary. 

“FOX analyst Greg Olsen just beat out Tom Brady for a Sports Emmy despite being demoted from FOX’s lead booth to make room for Brady,” posted NFL’s Dov Kleiman on X. “Olsen’s salary reportedly dropped from $10 million to $3 million after Brady signed his massive $375 million deal.”

Per Logan Jennes of AOL, this award is Olsen’s third Sports Emmy. The second was in 2024 for Outstanding Personality/Event Analyst. The first award was for emerging on-air talent (2023). 

The other nominees for the 2026 Outstanding Sports Personality: Event Analyst award included Cris Collinsworth, Troy Aikman, and Tom Brady.

FOX Sports signed the all-time great quarterback, Tom Brady, with a 10-year and $375 million deal. This massive offer was made so that Brady wouldn’t go to anyone else but FOX. The network then put him on the No. 1 broadcast crew and demoted Olsen. 

According to a report by PFSN, Olsen was bumped down to the second team along with Joe Davis. His annual salary also dropped from $10 million to $3 million during this process, a pay cut of about $7 million.

Olsen’s deal with FOX Sports is active for the next two years. Now, he has successfully positioned himself as the most coveted broadcast free agent in the industry. 

Tom Brady, on the other hand, is in his second year of the ten-year contract with no visible exit. Despite speculations, Olsen has been careful not to position the dynamic between him and Brady as a rivalry. 

Greg Olsen Sheds Light on His Equation With Tom Brady

Despite his demotion, Olsen has maintained that there was no animosity between him and Brady throughout this unsettling ordeal.

“There’s this idea that there’s this personal animosity and competition. There’s not,” said Olsen to reporters back in 2024. “My relationship with Tom and FOX and Joe Davis and Burkhardt and all my people at FOX couldn’t be better.”

Olsen took to social media after the Emmy win and shared that he was incredibly honored and humbled to be able to add another Emmy.

He also sang praise for the incredible people who were nominated with him and called Tom Brady “a fellow FOX colleague and now a close friend”.

Tom Brady made sure to acknowledge Olsen’s win and commented under his post:

"Amazing! Congratulations! Hard-earned and well-deserved, my brother!" the comment read.

While speculations continue to surround their roles at FOX, Olsen and Brady have continued to publicly support one another, showing that mutual respect has remained at the center of their relationship. 

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Written by

Naomi Grace

Edited by

Aadesh Dhote