FOX NFL Sunday announcer Greg Olsen thinks football broadcasters would find it easier to call NBA games than vice versa.

The NFL-NBA crossover debate continues to evolve after it was first started by ex-point guard Austin Rivers.

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In May, Rivers sparked controversy when he said that 30 current NBA players could successfully play in the NFL but not the other way around.

In an appearance on Pardon My Take this week, Olsen, 39, was asked how game announcers would fare if they swapped sports.

And while predicting that social media “would go bananas” if he joined in the debate, the Fox NFL star agreed to give his “honest” answer.

“I think an NFL broadcaster could broadcast an NBA game with more understanding and clarity than vice versa,” Olsen said.

“In football, every play is an individual story. It’s not just like a constant.”

Olsen explained that in football, broadcasters need to fill more air time because of the start-and-stop nature of the game.

That means they need to provide a more complex analysis of each play – while in basketball, announcers use the jargon sporadically, typically after a significant sequence.

“They’re not really giving the play-by-play exactly, because it’s happening so fast,” Olsen said.

“They’re flowing from offense to defense, from transition to foul, inbounds, baseline out-of-bounds.

“They’re flowing through so many different situations in real time that they’re only diving into the real specifics of [specific plays] really just in a handful of moments.”

Olsen said that the pace of basketball would likely give football announcers a chance to “kind of fake it a little bit more.”

The ex-NFL star also suggested that football games require a more in-depth breakdown because the sport isn’t as accessible as basketball.

“People are just more familiar with the ins and outs of it because more people do it than they play tackle football,” Olsen said.

Olsen is expected to lose his spot on Fox’s lead football broadcast team to Tom Brady in the 2024 NFL season.

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But the Fox NFL star recently said he won’t be happy being anything other than the No. 1 option.

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

“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 than ever.”