Fox's No. 2 analyst Greg Olsen, not Fox's No. 1 analyst Tom Brady, is nominated for an Emmy

In his final two years as Fox's No. 1 NFL game analyst, Greg Olsen won the Emmy for Outstanding Personality/Event Analyst. In his first year as Fox's No. 2 NFL game analyst, Olsen could make it three in a row. He's been nominated again, for the fourth straight time.

In contrast, Fox's new No. 1 NFL game analyst has not been nominated.

It's just another example of the awkward situation that Fox embraced when throwing $37.5 million per year at Tom Brady and relegating Olsen to the "B" team. While the process (like most awards of this ilk) is vague, ambiguous, and subjective, most would agree that Brady had a clunky and uneven debut season. Olsen was still Olsen, despite not being assigned to FOX's best game of the week.

Fox has been undeterred by any and all criticism of Brady, whether due to his broadcasting chops or the clear conflict of interest from his capacity as a Raiders owner. They've made the investment, and they're stuck with it. Right or wrong, the goal was to throw money at a big game. And to promote him unlike any network has ever promoted a game analyst.

The situation (coupled with the possibility that Fox lobbied aggressively for its new employee to be nominated) makes it even more impressive that Olsen found a way to stand out. He's joined by fellow former Fox No. 1 NFL game analyst Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning, Bill Raftery, and John Smoltz as the nominees.