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There are few things in life better than getting paid to play a sport or in the NFL as an adult. One of those things, however, might be getting paid to talk about sports and NFL as an adult, right after your playing career has ended.
There are many NFL players who make the leap from the field into the broadcast booth or studio after their careers are finished. Once Drew Brees calls it a career, which may happen sooner rather than later, he’ll slot into a chair at the NBC Sports studios to analyze Sunday Night Football games.
Here are:
5 notable NFL players who have transitioned into game or studio analysts on Sundays and Mondays
#1 Tony Romo
When former players retire from the NFL and make their way into game broadcasts, they usually don’t call the featured games right away. Like anything else, announcing and articulating thoughts in a coherent and concise manner takes practice. Recently retired players usually start very low on CBS or FOX’s broadcast lineups, so they can get these reps with smaller audiences.
That wasn’t the case with CBS lead color analyst Tony Romo. After he retired from the Dallas Cowboys in 2017, the network decided to bypass the usual progression for rookie announcers. He immediately slotted into the main analyst role alongside CBS lead play by play announcer Jim Nantz, and has been a hit from day one.
Romo was initially known for calling out plays before they happened, and his enthusiasm for what is taking place on the field has really gravitated with fans. We’ll get a chance to see him again soon with Nantz calling Super Bowl LV.
Also read: Who is Tony Romo's Wife, Candice Crawford?
#2 Troy Aikman
Even though Romo will be front and center this year for the NFL’s signature game, another former Dallas Cowboys quarterback has been the featured color analyst on FOX’s game broadcasts since 2002. Troy Aikman has had a front row seat to many of the biggest games in the last two decades, and has developed a special partnership with FOX lead play by play man Joe Buck.
Aikman won three Super Bowls with the Cowboys in the 90’s, and was one of the most popular players of the decade. He called his first Super Bowl in 2005 when the New England Patriots defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars alongside Buck and analyst Cris Collinsworth. Aikman’s longtime teammate on the Cowboys, fullback Daryl “Moose” Johnston, has also been a FOX game broadcaster for many years as well.
Also Read: Who is Troy Aikman's Wife, Catherine Mooty?
#3 Rich Gannon
It turns out quarterbacks don’t have to play for the Dallas Cowboys in order to get jobs as color analysts. Rich Gannon had one of the most interesting careers for a quarterback in NFL history. It did not get off to the most promising of starts, as he didn’t start any games during the first 3 years of his career with the Minnesota Vikings. Then, from 1990-1992, he started 35 out of a possible 48 games for them, with mixed results.
After bouncing around the NFL with stops in Washington and Kansas City, and also missing a season with a shoulder injury, it seemed like Gannon’s career was pretty much over. At age 34, he landed with the Oakland Raiders, and amazingly, that’s when his career took off. He led the Raiders to winning records in three out of his first four seasons there, and became a household name when he led the Raiders to a Super Bowl appearance in 2002.
Gannon has been with CBS since the 2005 NFL season, and has teamed with Marv Albert, Kevin Harlan and Greg Gumbel, most notably.
#4 Jason Witten
After taking a short break from discussing Dallas Cowboys, we inevitably return to talking about an America’s Team alumni with Jason Witten. It’s unclear whether Witten, who recently announced his retirement from the NFL after one season with the Las Vegas Raiders, will jump back into broadcasting after his stint on Monday Night Football during the 2019 season.
ESPN was hoping to strike gold with Witten after CBS had won the jackpot signing the tight end’s former NFL teammate in Tony Romo, but it did not quite work out that way. The longtime Cowboys star was paired with veteran play by plan man Joe Tessitore, and Anthony “Booger” McFarland, and the trio was not as successful as initially hoped. Witten is actually fourth in the NFL all time in career receptions, behind only Tony Gonzalez, Larry Fitzgerald and Jerry Rice.
#5 Phil Simms
Phil Simms had a very good career as an NFL quarterback with the New York Giants from 1979-1993, winning two Super Bowls with the team in that time. However, a younger generation of fans will likely remember him for his work on CBS broadcasts.
Simms spent a short time with NBC Sports in the mid 1990’s, but has been with CBS since 1998, and had been the number one color analyst at the network alongside Jim Nantz. However, when Romo joined CBS in 2017, the network had decision to make with the former Giants quarterback. He was re-assigned to CBS’ pregame show, and has been a fixture in that role since that time.
Also Read: Troy Aikman’s Net Worth
