Tag: Greg Olsen

Chiefs TE Travis Kelce gives passionate speech at fourth annual Tight End University

Kansas City #Chiefs TE Travis Kelce gives passionate speech at fourth annual Tight End University | @EdEastonJr

The fourth annual get-together, Tight End University (TEU), is underway on the Vanderbilt University campus on Nashville’s West End. Former retired Pro Bowler Greg Olsen, current San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle, and Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro Travis Kelce started the tradition of bringing the league’s tight ends together.

This edition collected its largest group, with over 70 tight ends and quarterbacks showing up to guide, learn, and work on techniques. Players also bond with activities that aren’t football-related, creating a fun atmosphere during the process.

Raising Cane’s provided an on-site food truck to distribute the Chicken Finger fuel and participated in the programs. Cane’s owner, Todd Graves, spoke to players in a classroom session, sharing his entrepreneurial story with comparisons to a football player’s journey.

“I was honored to have the opportunity to speak to these great athletes about my journey and the values that have helped me be successful along the way. Whether it’s football or the restaurant business, dreaming big and being fanatical in your pursuit to be elite is the same. I was happy to hear from the players they appreciated getting a perspective from someone in a different industry,” said Graves. “It’s a great group of guys, and I’m so proud of all they’ve achieved and will achieve for years to come. They have so many people looking up to them and have a great responsibility both on and off the field, and I have no doubt they’ll continue holding themselves to a high standard and pursuing excellence in all they do.”

Kelce addressed his fellow tight ends in a fiery speech to embrace the love for playing what he considers the best position in football.

“The biggest thing I wanted to let all the tight ends here know is that we do have the best position on the field. It is the best. It is the best because we’re all in open arms. We’re all the most relatable guys. We’re all the plumber, the utility guy, the landscaper, the electrician. You need a guy. We are the guy, and that’s why I love playing tight end.” said Kelce. “So, if you guys are here, don’t be afraid, man. Don’t be afraid to have a beer. Don’t be afraid to shake a hand and ask a question. Ask your fellow guys across the league what they saw on a certain route or what they think about going into a game. Man, that’s why we’re here. We’re here to get better. We’re here to have a good time, baby. So fire the f*** up!”

Kelce, through his many activities, continues to advocate for his position group with another successful TEU summit.

Panthers WR Xavier Legette not impressed with his Madden NFL 25 face scan

Panthers rookie WR Xavier Legette doesn’t seem awfully impressed by his Madden NFL 25 face scan.

Seeing yourself in a video game—and in one of the world’s most legendary franchises, at that—has to be a surreal experience. And for Carolina Panthers rookie Xavier Legette, his experience proved to be exactly that . . . but maybe not in a good way.

The 23-year-old wide receiver just came across his face scan from Madden NFL 25,the popular EA Sports title set to release in a little over two month’s time. That preview came courtesy of an Instagram post from Panthers Statement, which Legette carried over to his own story with what seems to be a stamp of non-approval . . .

@xavier_legette/IG

Perhaps the “likeness” is not to his liking, but at least Legette can take some solace in the fact that his scan comes nowhere close to some of the atrocities we’ve seen in the past.

Just ask former Panthers guard Deonte Brown . . .

@RacinJasun/Twitter

Or franchise great Greg Olsen, who was defaced twice . . .

Panthers.com

So, yeah, it’s not all that bad, Xavier.

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Panthers great Greg Olsen speaks about getting demoted at FOX for Tom Brady

Greg Olsen: “My aspirations are still to be a No. 1 analyst, whether it’s at Fox or elsewhere.”

Greg Olsen may be the No. 2 on paper, but he still the No. 1 in his aspirations.

The Carolina Panthers great, fresh off his second Sports Emmys win in as many years, joined Owen Poindexter on Thursday’s episode of the Front Office Sports Today podcast. Poindexter asked Olsen about his demotion from FOX’s top broadcast team to their second, brought on by the addition of seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback and three-time Most Valuable Player Tom Brady.

“My goal is to be the best,” Olsen replied. “My goal is that our crew is looked at as the best and that’s not just about me—it’s about my partner, it’s about our sideline analyst, it’s about our production team, our truck, our producer, our director and the guys and girls in the truck. So, it’s something that I’m very passionate about, it’s something that I’m very competitive in. And when I was the No. 2 crew before, I said, ‘Hey, my goal is to be the No. 1.'”

Olsen will now be taking up his color commentary duties alongside his new play-by-play partner Joe Davis for the upcoming campaign. Brady moves into Olsen’s old spot—joining Kevin Burkhardt and sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi.

He went on.

“My aspirations are still to be a No. 1 analyst, whether it’s at Fox or elsewhere,” Olsen added. “That will never change as long as I do this. I’m not just content to be there, I’m not just happy to have a seat. I want the top seat, and I want that wherever that opportunity allows and I’ll never stop working for that. I feel more motivated for that now more than ever.”

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Panthers great Greg Olsen wins 2nd Sports Emmy

Greg is gold once again!

Greg Olsen is certifiably golden, and nobody can take that away from him.

On Tuesday night, the Carolina Panthers great brought home his second Sports Emmy in as many years, winning the award for Outstanding Personality as an Event Analyst. Olsen won in the same category as an Emerging On-Air Talent in 2023—when he beat out the likes of ESPN’S Andraya Carter, Eli Manning, Robert Griffin III and JJ Redick.

The competition was stiff once again for Olsen—who was joined in the category by ESPN’s Troy Aikman, NBC’s Cris Collinsworth, CBS’ Bill Raftery, FOX’s John Smoltz and FOX’s Tom Verducci.

Here’s the moment in which Olsen grabbed the gold:

Unfortunately, the honor may be somewhat bittersweet for the former tight end—who will be taking a backseat to Tom Brady at FOX this upcoming season. The seven-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Most Valuable Player will be jumping right into the network’s No. 1 broadcast team, bumping Olsen down to the No. 2 squad.

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Greg Olsen won a Sports Emmy ahead of losing top NFL broadcasting role at Fox Sports to Tom Brady

Greg Olsen won a Sports Emmy … right before he’s replaced by Tom Brady at Fox.

Former NFL tight end-turned-broadcaster Greg Olsen will soon take a step down the ranks at Fox Sports as the network’s top NFL in-game commentator as Tom Brady assumes the role.

However, he’s got the hardware now to prove he’s one of the best broadcast analysts in the game.

On Tuesday night, Olsen won this year’s Sports Emmy for Outstanding Personality/Event Analyst over big names like Troy Aikman, Cris Collinsworth, Bill Raftery, John Smoltz and Tom Verducci.

It’s Olsen’s first Sports Emmy and establishes him as one of the real stars in NFL commentary with being honored in such a visible way and in such a crowded field of talent.

As wild as it is to say about the greatest NFL quarterback of all time, Brady has big shoes to fill as Olsen transitions into calling other NFL games at Fox.

NFL fans might be excited to hear from Brady on the network’s marquee slate, but losing Olsen is a definite blow to the quality of those broadcasts.

Olsen told USA TODAY last week he plans on staying at Fox for now, but don’t rule out other networks making a play for Olsen in the future.

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Greg Olsen responds to Austin Rivers’ tweet on why NBA players could definitely play in the NFL

This is a good take.

Austin Rivers sparked quite the controversy last week when he declared, “I can take 30 players right now in the NBA and throw them in the NFL. You cannot take 30 NFL players and put them in the NBA.”

This stirred things up, even though he’s … sort of right? Going from hoops to NFL has worked for some (see Gates, Antonio), but the other way is trickier (although it’s been done, see Ward, Charlie). Fox Sports’ Greg Olsen broke it down on Sports Seriously recently, saying there were certainly hoops stars who could cross over and rely on their “gross athleticism,” and vice versa for some of the NFL’s best athletes to go to the NBA with one offseason.

Take a look at the video below or click here to watch and see if you agree.

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Panthers great Greg Olsen reportedly facing significant pay cut due to FOX’s addition of Tom Brady

Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Greg Olsen is reportedly facing a 70-percent pay cut with Tom Brady’s jump to FOX’s No. 1 crew.

Tom Brady’s jump into the world of broadcasting is going to be a pretty costly one—for both FOX and Carolina Panthers great Greg Olsen.

As announced earlier this week, the seven-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Most Valuable Player is set to squeeze right into the No. 1 crew for FOX’s NFL coverage—following through with a reported 10-year, $375 million deal. The addition comes with a bit of subtraction, specifically for Olsen—who will not only receive a bump down to the No. 2 team, but also a bump down in pay.

Based on a piece by Andrew Marchand of The New York Post back in February, Olsen will go from earning $10 million a year to $3 million a year. That’s a 70-percent decrease in pay for the former tight end and Emmy Award-winning color commentator.

Olsen, of course, has been well aware of the possibility for quite a while now. He stated the following about Brady in a June 2022 episode of The Adam Schefter Podcast:

“I have all the respect in the world for Tom. I get it, if you have a chance to get Tom Brady, you’d be silly not to,” Olsen also said. “I have no hard feelings or animosity towards Tom. If he retires after this year and comes into the booth, that’s the way it goes.”

Well, that’s the way it went.

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Panthers rookie TE Ja’Tavion Sanders: ‘I’m trying to be the next Greg Olsen here’

Panthers rookie TE Ja’Tavion Sanders: “I told everybody I’m trying to be the next Greg Olsen here.”

Carolina Panthers rookie Ja’Tavion Sanders didn’t get the uniform number he was hoping for, at least not yet. But that won’t stop him from trying to grow into the tight end he wants to be.

Sanders spoke with reporters following his second taste of rookie minicamp on Saturday. The fourth-round pick was asked if he has to earn the No. 0, the digit he wore at the University of Texas.

“Oh yeah, no doubt,” he replied. “I feel like every rookie gotta earn their number. I knew I wasn’t gonna have 0 coming in, so I’ve already had that mindset knowing what I gotta do. Come in, put the work in, day in, day out to earn that number.”

85, not 0, is the number Sanders has been saddled with out of the gate. So on the bright side, that’s only three ticks off 88—the number of the last great Panthers tight end he’s aspiring to be.

“I told everybody I’m trying to be the next Greg Olsen here,” he later said with a smile.

That’d be an incredible outcome for Carolina, who hasn’t seen much production from the position since Olsen’s departure after the 2019 seasons.

Over the past three years, all Panthers tight ends have combined for 1,530 yards and eight touchdowns on 154 receptions. Sanders, in his last two collegiate campaigns, totaled 99 catches for 1,295 yards and seven scores.

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Former Panthers WR Ted Ginn Jr. reciprocates love from Cam Newton

Ted Ginn Jr. appreciated the special shoutout from his former QB Cam Newton.

Ted Ginn Jr. just tipped his cap (or his Meshika depending on who you ask) to his old pal Cam Newton.

Last week, the former NFL Most Valuable Player and Carolina Panthers legend was asked what receiver (other than tight end Greg Olsen) was his favorite throughout his career. Newton didn’t even hesitate to answer.

“Ted Ginn,” he replied in a clip posted to the 4th & 1 with Cam Newton Twitter/X account. “Ted had a very high IQ. And I don’t think he was ever featured like he was featured during the Carolina Panthers days, ’cause he scared so many people with his speed. And you couldn’t out, overthrow the [expletive].”

Well, those words weren’t thrown over Ginn Jr. either.

The retired wideout posted the following to Newton’s praise just a few days later:

The two helped push the Panthers to a pair of NFC South titles (2013 and 2015) as well as the franchise’s second-ever Super Bowl appearance. Over his three years in Carolina, Ginn Jr. reeled in 134 catches for 2,047 yards and 19 touchdowns.

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Panthers great Greg Olsen nominated for another Sports Emmy

Greg Olsen is up for another Sports Emmy.

Greg Olsen is continuing his broadcasting excellence.

As announced on Tuesday afternoon, the Carolina Panthers great has been nominated for another Sports Emmy. This time, he’s up as an Outstanding Personality in the Event Analyst category.

The highly-acclaimed and well-received FOX color commentator has some strong competition for the honors. Joining the former tight end as his fellow nominees are ESPN’s Troy Aikman, NBC’s Cris Collinsworth, CBS’ Bill Raftery, FOX’s John Smoltz and FOX’s Tom Verducci.

If Olsen captures the gold here, it wouldn’t be his first victory on this stage. He won last year’s award for Outstanding Personality as an Emerging On-Air Talent—beating out the likes of Andraya Carter, Robert Griffin III, Eli Manning and JJ Redick.

But despite the recognition, Olsen is likely to take a backseat to Tom Brady—who is slated to join the NFL on FOX team as their lead color guy in 2024. Knowing that change is coming, the seven-time Super Bowl champion and three-time Most Valuable Player praised Olsen for his work back in January.

“I think Greg’s done an incredible job,” he said on The Pat McAfee Show. “I have so much respect for him, how he approaches his job. He’s super-prepared in what he does. I think he does an incredible job every time he’s on. I love listening to him.”

We do too, Tom. We do too.

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