Let’s be clear it doesn’t appear that Olsen initiated this discussion or made any demands of the Panthers at this time. But when asked about his contract situation by a reporter he wasn’t shy:
Report: Greg Olsen wants to restructure contract - NFL.com
"In the ideal world, [a restructured contract] would be great," Olsen said, via Person. "I'm very confident on where I stand in the league and where I belong. Both productivity and all things considered, there's nobody that's been more productive or more consistent than I have. And I'll stand on that until the cows come home.
You would be hard pressed to argue with Olsen no matter what angle you take. While there might be a few other TEs mentioned as better than Olsen none of them have remained as injury free as Olsen (knock on wood baby). If you prefer statistics then Olsen dominates that discussion too:
Olsen has been a picture of durability and productivity in Carolina. He hasn't missed a game since his rookie year a decade ago. Better yet, he's coming off a third consecutive season with 1,000 or more receiving yards -- the only such three-year stretch by a tight end in NFL history.
Panthers coach Ron Rivera has attested that Olsen belongs "right at the top" among the best tight ends in the game.
Olsen just signed an extension in 2015 that makes him the 7th highest paid TE in the game at $7.5M annually. By comparison Gronk just got his contract ‘updated’ with incentives that could push his annual dollar value to over $10M. Given Olsen will be 33 at the end of his current contract any additional improvements by the Panthers would most likely be based on incentives similar to Gronk’s. I’m sure Olsen would say ‘Bring it on.’
I say pay the man with incentives...it’s a no lose situation really.