The Atlanta Falcons announced that they have named Chris Olsen the senior director of football administration on Friday.
Olsen joins the Falcons after 13 seasons (2007-19) with the Houston Texans where he served as the senior vice president of football administration. Olsen's primary responsibility with the Texans was to work close with the general manager on negotiating player contracts and managing the salary cap.
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"Chris is widely respected across the entire league for his knowledge of the game and the business, and the work he has accomplished to this point in his career," said Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot. "On top of that, he is a great human being and teammate and we are excited for him to join the Falcons organization. We look forward to what we can accomplish and build together."
Prior to joining the Texans, Olsen spent 13 years (1994-2006) working at the National Football League office in New York. Olsen served as the manager of labor operations with the NFL management council from 1999-2006 where he was responsible for reviewing and analyzing player contracts to ensure teams were in compliance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) and salary cap, as well as provided assistance to club executives pertaining to player-related areas of the CBA. He also served as the league's liaison to the NFLPA regarding player contract matters, while working as a national game representative and instant replay communicator.
He began his tenure with the league office in 1994 as an analyst in the player personnel department. After being promoted to coordinator in 1998, Olsen became responsible for all facets of the player petition process on special eligibility for the NFL Draft (underclassmen prospects), including coordinating player evaluations for the College Advisory Committee. Olsen also produced annual reports for the competition committee and reviews player contracts to ensure their complains with the NFL's constitution and bylaws.
A native of Little Silver, N.J., Olsen earned his degree in business administration from Western New England University in 1990 and earned a master's degree in sports management from Springfield College in 1997.
