Kirk Herbstreit has agreed to a contract extension to remain in the broadcast booth on “Thursday Night Football” on Amazon Prime Video, which can replace him if another choice for game analyst becomes available, The Athletic reported on Wednesday.
Top alternatives could include current Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay, who has spoken publicly about a future in television. The musical chairs in the announcer booths could include ESPN analyst Troy Aikman and Fox analyst Greg Olsen, who are in the final years of their contracts, and current Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, should he retire, The Athletic article noted.
The caveat in Herbstreit’s new deal, which is for multiple seasons and eight figures annually, per The Athletic, comes as he is at the end of his initial five-year contract with Prime Video. McVay, now 40, reportedly was recruited by Prime Video before it hired Herbstreit five years ago.
Herbstreit, 57, also is in the final season of his contract with ESPN, for whom he is a long-running commentator on “College GameDay” and is slotted as the network’s top college football game analyst. ESPN will address Herbstreit’s contract status after this college football season, per the report.
A former Ohio State quarterback (1989-92) who did not play in the NFL, Herbstreit has been with ESPN for more than three decades. He has been doing double duty as an NFL commentator with iconic play-by-play caller Al Michaels, 81, who is on year-to-year contracts, per The Athletic.
According to the report, Prime Video in 2022 was interested in McVay, Aikman and San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch for the game analyst position, while Michaels favored his former broadcast partner Cris Collinsworth, who chose to stay with NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.”