“Selling his soul” - NFL fans react as Rich Eisen makes major move with ESPN return after two decades

On Monday, Andrew Marchand of 'The Athletic' announced that NFL analyst Rich Eisen would be moving back to ESPN, the company he worked with more than two decades ago. His popular show, 'The Rich Eisen Show' would be also moving to ESPN later this year, the same report announced.

NFL analyst Dov Kleiman broke the news on X on Monday.

"𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: Rich Eisen is returning to ESPN, per @TheAthletic."

In response, some NFL fans voiced their frustration that another top analyst would be joining ESPN.

"Selling his soul." one fan wrote.

"NOOOOOO. ESPN is awful." one fan added.

"That sucks. His work on the NFL network is the best. He better replace Greenberg on the NFL draft next year." one fan wrote.

Meanwhile, other NFL fans outlined why this move may be the case long-term.

"Yeah cause ESPN is getting ready to buy NFL Network." one fan said.

"What is he gonna do there, every role is filled lol. Just another podcast prolly demoted to espn 2/news." one fan added.

"Need more Rich Eisen in my life. I love it." one fan wrote in support of the move.

Why is ESPN acquiring some of the top media talent from NFL Network?

The past few months have seen some major NFL analysts and names move from NFL Network to ESPN. As discussed, Eisen will be making the move after leaving ESPN more than two decades ago. Since leaving ESPN, he moved to the NFL Network, where he hosts his popular podcast and commentates NFL games on the NFL Network as well.

In addition to Eisen, NFL insider and analyst Peter Schrager left the popular show 'Good Morning Football' a few months ago now in order to join ESPN. Having been with the show for almost a decade and being a regular contributor on NFL Network, it was surprising to hear that Schrager was making the move to ESPN.

Although it is not clear as to why ESPN is acquiring some of the top media talent in the industry, there have been reports that the company may be interested in purchasing NFL Network in the near future. Either way, ESPN now has many of the top media analysts, including Eisen, on their team moving forward.