There has been a lot of speculation as to where the broadcasting pieces will fall into place next season for the NFL’s network partners now that Amazon has the exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football.
Reports came out last month that ESPN College Gameday’s Kirk Herbstreit has garnered interest from Amazon to be their NFL analyst for TNF. It seems that these negotiations have ramped up in a big way, as NBC’s Peter King reported that Herbstreit will indeed join Amazon for NFL games.
Amazon is expected to finalize a deal with ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit to be the main analyst for Thursday Night Football, per @peter_king. Amazon had interest in Troy Aikman but he went to MNF. They land on Herbstreit, who will likely continue his ESPN/ABC duties as well.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) March 7, 2022
This has gotten a ton of reactions on social media from those wondering how Herbstreit will handle covering the NFL on a full-time basis.
I enjoy @KirkHerbstreit on the call! This should be 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/FneYJ93rN7
— Darius Butler (@DariusJButler) March 7, 2022
Second broadcasting domino falls. Can’t help but to think this was not what #Amazon wanted when they started looking for guys in the booth. Herbstreit has been a legend in college football so let’s see if it translates. #NFL #NFLTwitter https://t.co/TYUSnewatP
— Perfect Spiral (@psppod) March 7, 2022
More Kirk Herbstreit is a good thing. https://t.co/VSf3BhOjk0
— Griff Bordignon (@MrGriffinB) March 7, 2022
To some, it may be shocking that Herbstreit would even be interested in calling NFL games, but he has said in the past that, in the perfect world, he would be covering both the NFL and college football.
It appears he will get his wish, as he is expected to also continue with his college football role at ESPN, which has many college football fans excited.
College GameDay lives on https://t.co/6EEOYtwnOw
— . (@ItsPaoloni) March 7, 2022
Wow, Herbstreit’s work load is going to be absolutely insane this season. I would be in the fetal position by week five. https://t.co/XkofuZWJPF
— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) March 7, 2022
Great choice by Amazon, and glad that Herbstreit will be able to continue with CFB work with ESPN. https://t.co/uvJt4N2vB7
— T (@TheoTweetsStuff) March 7, 2022
While some think it could be a difficult transition for Herbstreit, he has called a handful of Monday Night Football games in recent years on ESPN, so he certainly has the experience.
This is a huge addition to the Thursday Night Football coverage for Amazon going forward. Herbstreit certainly has the big name that Amazon was likely looking for to start their full-time broadcast of the product, even if he’s not the name they initially wanted.
Now we will have to wait and see how the rest of the dominos fall for other networks’ broadcast booths. Many expect Herbstreit to be paired with Al Michaels, but there have been rumors that Michaels could possibly go to ESPN to join Troy Aikman on Monday Night Football instead.
