“I Am Done”: Rich Eisen Announces Major Career Decision Amid Differences Within NFL Network’s Booth

Rich Eisen built a rare on-air partnership with Kurt Warner in the NFL Network booth, calling international games together as the network’s go-to duo. That chemistry meant little once ESPN took over production decisions following its NFL Media acquisition. And now, Eisen finally gave a straight answer to the question that’s been trailing him for a while now.

When asked on Jimmy Traina’s SI Media podcast if he’s done calling extra games in the booth, Eisen didn’t hesitate.

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“I believe I am. Yes, I am,” Eisen said on SI Media With Jimmy Traina.

“I enjoyed doing it a lot, man. I enjoyed doing it a lot. But it’s so counter to what I normally do. Sitting in this chair on this set, three-hour radio TV simulcast game day morning on Sunday morning, if there’s dead air, if there’s blank space, if there’s no talking, my first thought is to jump in and fill the void. It’s the exact opposite when you’re calling a game. Your job is to shut the f up after the big moment happens.”

His first play-by-play assignment for NFL Network happened in October 2018, where Rich was partnered up with Kurt Warner to call the game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London.

They had perfect chemistry over the years, but still the criticism didn’t subside.

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In 2023, when Richard Deitsch interviewed him at The Athletic, Eisen mentioned that he remained conscious of the folks who would want him to limit himself to hosting. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic was quite straightforward in saying that “Eisen is just not a play-by-play” and did not let it rest there, adding “the way he thinks you’re supposed to call a game instead of being instinctive, which comes from reps and reps.”

Now the opportunities that might have proven those critics wrong are gone.

Last year, NBC produced a YouTube broadcast with Eisen and Warner on the call. This year, YouTube has no NFL games at all after the league split that package between the platform and Netflix, and YouTube decided to walk away. Add in ESPN taking over production for NFL Network following its NFL Media acquisition, and Eisen’s international slate assignment disappeared with it.

None of these push him off the air completely. Eisen stays right where fans know him best, hosting NFL GameDay Morning on Sunday mornings. The play-by-play chapter just closes here, and based on how Eisen talked about it, that seems fine by him.

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