{"id":851127,"date":"2026-04-03T11:16:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:16:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/851127\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T11:16:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:16:18","slug":"espn-shaking-up-nfl-broadcast-team-with-dark-horse-candidate-emerging-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/851127\/","title":{"rendered":"ESPN shaking up NFL broadcast team with ‘dark horse’ candidate emerging"},"content":{"rendered":"

ESPN and Disney\u2019s merger with NFL Network has the Worldwide Leader shuffling its on-air talent.<\/p>\n

ESPN is expected to bring in a new booth for its No. 2 NFL broadcast team, which currently includes Chris Fowler, Dan Orlovsky and Louis Riddick Jr., The Athletic reported on Thursday.<\/a><\/p>\n

As part of the merger, ESPN will no longer have \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d doubleheaders since the NFL retained the rights to seven extra games, separate from the 17-game schedule, that may be international \u2014 which could impact the availability of Fowler, Orlovsky and Riddick due to their college football work.<\/p>\n

ESPN broadcaster Dan Orlovsky speaks before the Lions\u2019 win over the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on Sept. 22, 2025 in Baltimore. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Fowler is ESPN\u2019s No. 1 college play-by-play announcer, while Orlovsky and Riddick call college football games and appear in-studio. <\/p>\n

Jason Kelce, who signed a multi-year broadcast deal with ESPN in May 2024, is said to be a \u201cdark horse candidate on the analyst side.\u201d <\/p>\n

The retired Eagles center is a studio analyst on ESPN\u2019s \u201cMonday Night Countdown\u201d and appears across other shows and events. <\/p>\n

NFL Network\u2019s Kurt Warner is also a candidate for the potential new No. 2 booth. <\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s Dave Pasch and Mike Monaco are in the mix as play-by-play announcers, while Bob Wischusen was also mentioned as a possible emerging candidate.<\/p>\n

Louis Riddick attends SiriusXM At Super Bowl LVII on Febr. 9, 2023 in Phoenix. Getty Images for SiriusXM<\/p>\n

ESPN declined to comment to The Athletic.<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s No. 1 NFL broadcasting team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are entering the final seasons of their five-year deals for a total combined value of $165 million. <\/p>\n

The pair will call ESPN\u2019s first Super Bowl in February 2027.<\/p>\n

The Athletic also reported that ESPN is interested in retaining NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, whose contract is up at the end of the month. <\/p>\n

ESPN broadcaster Chris Fowler (right) greets Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham before the Utes win over Oregon in the Pac-12 Conference championship game at Allegiant Stadium on Dec. 3, 2021 in Las Vegas. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Additionally, Rich Eisen will remain the host of the NFL Network\u2019s Draft presentation in April. <\/p>\n

ESPN\/Disney absorbed the contracts of NFL Network talent in a merger that began on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

ESPN\u2019s $3 billion\u00a0purchase of NFL Network<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and other assets including the RedZone channel and NFL Fantasy Football \u2014 was finalized as of Jan. 2026.<\/p>\n

Jason Kelce is a candidate for a spot in the booth. Erik Messori for NY Post<\/p>\n

The NFL received a 10 percent equity stake in ESPN as part of the deal. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ESPN and Disney\u2019s merger with NFL Network has the Worldwide Leader shuffling its on-air talent. ESPN is expected…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":851128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[65521,1774,16207,12,7,3239,126,9,10,203],"class_list":{"0":"post-851127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-chris-fowler","9":"tag-dan-orlovsky","10":"tag-disney","11":"tag-espn","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-louis-riddick","14":"tag-nfl-network","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-sports-entertainment","17":"tag-sports-media"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116340496723528375","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}