Rich Eisen addresses concerns about ESPN-NFL partnership

A few days after Rich Eisen was handed his cardboard box from ESPN, Roger Goodell took him golfing.

Eisen had just landed at the NFL Network, a network that, at first glance, feels like the league’s own broadcast outpost. And Goodell, who was then the COO of the league, essentially told him to bring his ESPN self, his credibility, and not to overthink the politics.

“And halfway through the day, he says, ‘We hired you for a reason. We want you to be the guy from SportsCenter and ESPN. Bring your game.’ Essentially, to paraphrase,” Eisen told Brandon Contes on the Awful Announcing Podcast. “‘There’s going to be sometimes in the NFL where somebody at the club level — or maybe ownership — is going to call, and you’ll hear something you said they aren’t happy with. If you’re ever in a spot, call me, and I’ll fix it.’ Never thought a second lick about it. Ever.”

Fast forward 22 years, and Eisen finds himself back where he started, returning to ESPN as part of the network’s new direct-to-consumer offering. ESPN and the NFL are now officially business partners, with the league set to own a 10% stake in the network, pending regulatory approval.

When asked about concerns over the NFL potentially influencing ESPN’s coverage, Eisen was honest about the limits of his knowledge.

“It’s a different day and age, where a sports league and a [media] partner make a deal,” Eisen said. “And for a piece of a company, I don’t know how that’s going to work. That might be for a larger flowchart than me.”

That admission is more revealing than any definitive statement Eisen could have made. Here’s a guy who’s spent decades navigating the space between league and media, who helped build NFL Network from the ground up, who knows exactly how these relationships work, and even he’s uncertain about what happens when the lines get this blurred.

The broader media conversation has been split. Dan Patrick has waved off concerns, arguing that ESPN has been “in bed” with the NFL for years and that true journalistic independence was already compromised long ago. Patrick pointed to examples like ESPN canceling Playmakers after pressure from the NFL and disciplining personalities like Bill Simmons and Jemele Hill for criticizing the league.

Don Van Natta Jr. has been more cautious, acknowledging his concerns while insisting he’s been assured his investigative work will continue uninterrupted. Meanwhile, David Samson has been far less diplomatic, calling the entire arrangement a threat to legitimate journalism.

Eisen’s take is far more grounded.

“ESPN’s now in bed with wrestling and WWE and baseball,” Eisen told Contes. “I don’t know, at the end of the day, I’ve got Seth Wickersham coming into the studio. I’ve had Don Van Natta on my program multiple times. I don’t know how you’re going to tell Don, ‘Hey, hold your horses.’ You know what I mean? DVN Jr. has been there and done that. I don’t know how you tell him to go slower, same with Seth. As long as they’re still employed, and they are, last time I checked with ESPN.”

Eisen’s not making grand pronouncements about journalism or editorial independence. He’s talking about the actual people who do the work, reporters like Van Natta and Wickersham, who have built their careers on holding the NFL accountable. But there’s also a reality here that some coverage will inevitably change, even if the marquee investigative pieces continue.

“Did we ever in the NFL have an exposé on what’s going on in the locker room on a subject matter that’s outside of depth chart controversy and coaching controversy? Of course not. I mean, please. Our eyes are wide open here. Of course,” Eisen said. “Listen, I can’t imagine you’re going to turn on NFL Live and NFL Network when these two companies merge — or these two entities belong in the same circle — that you’re going to get bland conversations. ‘We’re not going to talk about that decision or this roster move, or this controversy, or this suspension.’ It’s all still going to be talked about in that regard. And if you’re looking for something harder core, or deeper down, or pulling back layers of machinery, you might still get it from the ESPN side of things, but I don’t think I’m telling any tales out of school here.”

Day-to-day coverage will continue largely unchanged. The controversial roster moves, the suspensions, the coaching drama, all of that will still get discussed. But the deeper investigative work, the stuff that really makes the league uncomfortable? That might get pushed to different corners of the ESPN ecosystem, away from the joint NFL-ESPN programming.

Eisen’s return to ESPN is perfectly timed to test these dynamics. He’s a known quantity with credibility on both sides, someone the NFL trusts and ESPN values. If anyone can navigate this new landscape successfully, it’s probably him.

The truth is, nobody really knows how this will work. Not Van Natta, not Samson, not Patrick, and not even Rich Eisen. That uncertainty might be the most honest answer we’re going to get.

Listen to the full episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast featuring Rich Eisen beginning Thursday, Sept. 4. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.