When The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that YouTube was having trouble finding a play-by-play voice for its exclusive NFL broadcast, one name immediately came to mind: Rich Eisen.
The longtime NFL Network host is one of the few high-profile broadcasters with both the availability and the familiarity to step into the role. More importantly, he has an established rapport with Kurt Warner, who was previously announced as the analyst for the game. And according to Marchand, Eisen is now considered the leading candidate for the job.
In Awful Announcing’s newsletter (subscribe!), Matt Yoder outlined several possible candidates to join Warner in the booth. Along with Eisen, the list included veteran voices like Dan Hicks, Chris Rose, Chris Lewis, and Beth Mowins.
The issue, however, is timing. The game is scheduled for a Friday night in São Paulo, Brazil, which complicates matters. Most college and NFL broadcasters are already committed to other assignments that weekend, with Hicks being one of the few potential exceptions. That scheduling crunch is reportedly the main reason YouTube has struggled to lock down a play-by-play voice, in addition to other networks being hesitant to loan out their talent.
Although NBC will handle production duties for the game, the network is not assigning any of its on-air talent to the broadcast. That responsibility appears to fall squarely on the shoulders of the NFL Network. With Warner already confirmed as the analyst, Eisen has quickly emerged as the most logical play-by-play option. According to Marchand’s report on Wednesday, Eisen is available for the Friday night game and will already be shifting his radio show to ESPN that same week.
Eisen and Warner have plenty of reps together, often serving as the NFL Network’s go-to broadcast team. They usually call around seven games a season, including a handful of international matchups, so dropping them into a Friday night game in Brazil wouldn’t exactly be unfamiliar territory.
While they ranked just 15th in Awful Announcing’s 2024 NFL announcer rankings — placing them firmly in the middle of the pack — they’ve built a comfortable rhythm and on-air chemistry over time. That familiarity, especially with international games like this one in São Paulo, could make them the safest and most seamless option for YouTube’s first exclusive NFL broadcast.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.