Greg Olsen wins a Sports Emmy. Screengrab via @SportsEmmys.
FoxNFLBy Awful Announcing Staff on

Well, this is awkward. Greg Olsen was honored by the Sports Emmys on Tuesday night with a win in the “Outstanding Personality – Event Analyst category.” And although we don’t have the official record in front of us, he may be the first sports media personality to ever win a Sports Emmy and then immediately receive a demotion in the same year.

By now we all know the story. Olsen has risen through the ranks quickly at Fox to become one of the top game analysts in all of sports. When Joe Buck and Troy Aikman left Fox for greener pastures at ESPN and Monday Night Football, Fox was left with little choice but to promote the #2 team of Kevin Burkhardt and Olsen to the top slot at the network and calling a Super Bowl. Both stepped up to the plate and excelled in the role, especially Olsen. But Fox clearly felt they needed more star power in their lead analyst, and were willing to pay Tom Brady $375 million to get it. It’s believed Olsen will work the network’s #2 team again alongside World Series voice Joe Davis.

But what Fox will gain in Brady’s starpower, they will lose in Olsen being quite literally the best analyst in sports, at least according to the Emmys. Olsen beat out Troy Aikman, Cris Collinsworth, Bill Raftery, John Smoltz, and Tom Verducci in the category.

When he stepped on stage to receive the award, the former tight end addressed the elephant in the room by naming Brady, but also making a joke about the ESPN+ Toy Story telecast that also won an award on Tuesday night replacing everyone in the category. He then graciously thanked his wife and a number of people in the industry and on his broadcast crew in accepting the honor.

Perhaps most significantly, Olsen admitted that he wasn’t sure what’s in his future, where it will be or what level of football he will be working, but he said he’s committed to analyzing the sport wherever that may take him.

Fox Sports proudly trumpeted the Emmy win for Olsen, as every network PR department does when one of their talent or shows win an award. Of course, the Fox tweet did not mention that an Emmy win was not enough for Olsen to keep his job on the #1 broadcast crew.

As expected, Fox’s replies were filled with jokes and memes about the awkwardness of the network choosing to replace the official best analyst in the business with a broadcast rookie this coming season.

The Sports Emmys may not speak for all sports fans and media observers, but Olsen is equally as popular both inside the industry and by those watching at home. Brady may be great on television and rise to Olsen’s level or even surpass him. That remains to be seen. But Olsen’s Emmy win means there’s no doubt that everything that has happened from the minute Fox announced Brady’s hire until now has made it the most painfully awkward process the industry has ever seen.