The Super Bowl is the kick off of business season in the NFL, and that extends to the businesses that televise the NFL.
Andrew Marchand reported for The Athletic that Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay will make "a couple of" appearances on Fox's Super Bowl pre-game show, in what could become an audition for a permanent seat at the network's studio desk.
The proverbial elevator from the sideline to the press box has never been more active. Tony Romo retired from the Dallas Cowboys after the 2016 season and immediately ascended to CBS's top analyst chair in 2017; in 2020, just before the pandemic hit, he permanently changed the economics of sports television by signing a contract worth $17 million a year and more than $100 million in total. Greg Olsen retired from the NFL after 2020 and was Fox's top analyst by 2022, only to be replaced by Tom Brady and his 10-year, $375 million contract. Most recently, Marchand reports, Jason Kelce retired from the Philadelphia Eagles for a 3-year, $24 million deal to be a part-time player at ESPN.
In short, the National Football League props up the entire American television industry, and those who make it happen and those who can talk about it are in line to make a lot of money -- and those who can do both can make a lot of money for a long time.
In addition to McVay, Marchand writes that Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, Amazon panelist JJ Watt and Olsen (currently underemployed as Fox's No. 2 analyst), are the proverbial "next up" to land a major TV role, either as a game analyst or studio panelist (rhyme not intended), if and when a job becomes available.
If/when that happens, it would most likely be in the studio. Networks have almost exclusively gravitated toward quarterbacks for their lead analyst job, at both the NFL and college levels.
Lead NFL TV analysts (position)
Fox: Tom Brady (quarterback)
CBS: Tony Romo (quarterback)
ESPN: Troy Aikman (quarterback)
NBC: Cris Collinsworth (wide receiver)
Amazon: Kirk Herbstreit (quarterback)
Coaches on NFL Studio Shows
Fox: Jimmy Johnson
CBS: Bill Cowher
ESPN: Rex Ryan
NBC: Jason Garrett, Tony Dungy
Amazon: None
Lead college football TV analysts (position)
ESPN: Kirk Herbstreit (quarterback), Greg McElroy (quarterback), Jesse Palmer (quarterback), Louis Riddick (defensive back), Dusty Dvoracek (defensive tackle)
Fox: Joel Klatt (quarterback)
CBS: Gary Danielson (quarterback)
NBC: Todd Blackledge (quarterback)
Coaches on college football studio shows
ESPN: Nick Saban, Lee Corso
Fox: Urban Meyer
CBS: Rick Neuheisel
NBC: None
McVay, who set the NFL's modern-day record by becoming a head coach by the age of 30, has been open about dealing with burnout and not being long for coaching. Frankly, 2021 Sean McVay would probably be surprised 2025 Sean McVay is still in coaching. He turned down a 3-year deal at $20 million a year to sit in the chair Kirk Herbstreit currently occupies at Amazon.
Tomlin, 52, has never shown any real interest in any job other than the one he's held since 2007. In 2021, he lashed out after speculation lobbied him for open positions at LSU and USC. Still, Marchand reports that television executives have come to the same conclusion others have: Tomlin would have to wait about 0.2 seconds for the football business to throw jobs and money at him the moment he no longer wears black and yellow:
Tomlin has shown no inkling about exiting the sidelines, but he is the one who executives and NFL play-by-players talk about in terms of potential because of his way of succinctly making thoughtful points during press conferences and other media availabilities.
Tomlin has his position because Bill Cowher left coaching for CBS at age 49 and never looked back. Jimmy Johnson joined the Fox desk at 50, returned at 56, and remains there today at 81. Lee Corso was 52 when he debuted at ESPN.
Then again, Bill Belichick just jumped back into coaching at age 72. Pete Carroll took a new job at 73. Mack Brown was 67 when he left ESPN for North Carolina.
Clearly, the TV bug bites some harder than others. But for those with the prestige and skills to do it, coaching 20-odd days a year from a studio chair can be just as lucrative as actually doing the job for all 365.