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Kevin Burkhardt broadcast the biggest games of Greg Olsen’s successful New Jersey high school football career.
Now Burkhardt and Olsen will play the biggest game in sport together and much more.
FOX Sports officially announced Tuesday that Burkhardt and Olsen have been elevated to the network’s No. 1 NFL tandem, replacing the pairing of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, who left FOX to air “Monday Night Football” on ESPN.
Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will return as sideline reporters.
The announcement comes at a critical time for FOX as two of the next three Super Bowls will be broadcast, including Super Bowl 57, which is scheduled for Feb. 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The network also has Super Bowl 59 scheduled for February 9, 2025 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Burkhardt and Olsen worked together as the network’s No. 2 team last season to rave reviews, with the latter making the transition from Pro Bowl tight end to stand.
How long their partnership lasts beyond 2022 depends on the player future of Tom Brady, who has reportedly signed a 10-year, $375 million deal to join Burkhardt at FOX booth #1. Brady ended his brief retirement and announced he would be returning to the game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Since joining FOX, Burkhardt has been the play-by-play caller for about two dozen auditions with prospective analysts. Of that group, he considered Olsen, whose high school games he broadcast as athletic director of WGHT 1500 Radio in Pompton Lakes, in a class of his own.
Burkhardt said two years ago he believed Olsen was destined to be the next big thing in broadcasting. Now they will be together for at least another season and in front of some of the biggest TV viewers around.
“Last season, Kevin and Greg showed viewers their undeniable chemistry and ability to call football at the elite level,” said FOX Sports President of Production/Operations and Executive Producer Brad Zager. “We can’t wait for fans to see what they bring to America’s Game of the Week [on FOX]the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl LVII.”
Burkhardt’s journey has certainly taken its share of memorable twists and turns. After graduating from William Paterson University in 1997, he accepted the position of athletic director at WGHT Radio, a 1,000-watt AM daytime-only station in Pompton Lakes. He helped transform that division into a varsity version of WFAN, along with other fledgling networks that improved coverage of high school sports in North Jersey.
Unable to make it on a larger network after six years, a frustrated Burkhardt left WGHT, put his broadcast dreams on hold and became a car salesman for Pine Belt Chevrolet in Eatontown.
For eight months, Burkhardt sold cars and sent his tapes to radio stations in New York and elsewhere, believing that his breakthrough would come eventually.
If you did that, it was quick. He worked for CBS Radio doing updates, joined WFAN as a reporter for the New York Jets, and his biggest break to date came with SNY during New York Mets games, which gave Burkhardt the ideal platform to spread his radio wings and his personality to show display.
Within a decade, Burkhardt went from selling cars and almost out of the radio business to the national stage. The Bloomfield native has been chosen to replace Buck, one of the most recognized and acclaimed play-by-play voices in esports.
By his side for next February’s Super Bowl in Arizona will be the star tight end whose games he called Wayne Hills High School.
The best NFL broadcast team for FOX Sports was born, raised and made in Jersey.
Art Stapleton is the Giants beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Giants analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe to our NFC East newsletter today.
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Twitter: @art_stapleton