ESPN Shaking Up NFL Broadcast Team with ‘Dark Horse’ Candidate Emerging

Bristol is quietly re-drawing its NFL map. With Disney’s $3 billion absorption of NFL Network now official, ESPN is using the moment to re-tool the voices fans will hear on its No. 2 NFL broadcast team, according to a Thursday report by The Athletic.

Chris Fowler, Dan Orlovsky and Louis Riddick Jr.—the current trio for ESPN’s secondary game package—could be displaced by scheduling conflicts created by the league’s new international inventory. Because the NFL retained seven stand-alone games that may be played overseas, ESPN will no longer stage the traditional Monday Night Football doubleheaders, tightening the calendar for Fowler, the network’s lead college play-by-play voice, and for Orlovsky and Riddick, who also juggle college duties and studio work.

Sources tell The Athletic that retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce has emerged as a “dark horse” candidate for the analyst chair. Kelce, who signed a multi-year ESPN deal in May 2024, currently appears on Monday Night Countdown and across other network properties. NFL Network’s Kurt Warner is also under consideration for the same role.

On the play-by-play side, ESPN’s Dave Pasch and Mike Monaco are viewed as front-line options, while veteran Bob Wischusen has been mentioned as a possible surprise addition. The eventual pairings will slot behind the established A-team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, who are entering the final seasons of five-year contracts worth a combined $165 million and are already penciled in to call ESPN’s first-ever Super Bowl in February 2027.

Elsewhere in the merger shuffle, ESPN hopes to retain NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, whose contract expires at month’s end. Rich Eisen will continue to host the network’s draft coverage in April. As of Wednesday, ESPN/Disney has absorbed all existing NFL Network talent contracts, completing a transaction that gives the NFL a 10 percent equity stake in ESPN while bringing RedZone, NFL Fantasy Football and other assets under the Disney umbrella.