A new football season is nearly upon us and that means the return of Monday Night Football! This year, ESPN will feature a new commentator team to guide fans through the season.
What’s Happening:
- As a new season of sports is about to kick off, ESPN has announced their 2020 Monday Night Football commentator team.
- Sportscast veterans and ESPN favorites will be sharing all the details of each game with fans nationwide.
- This year’s team includes:
- Steve Levy on play-by-play
- Brian Griese as analyst
- Louis Riddick as analyst
- Lisa Salters
- John Parry as officiating analyst
- Additionally, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN’s leading college football broadcasting team, will make their NFL debut when they call the first game of the season-opening MNF doubleheader, featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers at the New York Giants (7:15 pm).
Monday Night Football Highlights:
- ESPN’s new NFL commentating team will begin the season with the Tennessee Titans at the Denver Broncos on Monday, Sept. 14 (10:10 pm ET), the second game of ESPN’s annual Week 1 doubleheader.
- The following two weeks, ESPN’s MNF schedule features:
- Las Vegas Raiders’ first home game at Allegiant Stadium against the New Orleans Saints (Week 2)
- Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs travel to the Baltimore Ravens (Week 3)
- Multiple appearances by Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Weeks 8 and 11)
- The full MNF schedule is available here.
What They’re Saying:
- Connor Schell, ESPN Executive Vice President, Content: “Steve, Brian and Louis are trusted voices of the NFL whose knowledge and love of football connects with fans. We are thrilled that they will join Lisa Salters to make up our new Monday Night Football team and share their passion and insight with football fans in what promises to be a great broadcast each week.”
- Connor Schell: “Chris and Kirk are commentators at the top of their game and have thrilled college football fans for many years. We are looking to add new opportunities to their expansive portfolios and are confident that NFL fans will be just as excited to hear one of the most prolific broadcasting duos on Monday Night Football.”
About the MNF Commentator Team:
Steve Levy
- Levy has worked for ESPN since 1993, immediately growing in stature as one of ESPN’s most popular SportsCenter anchors, a position he continues in today.
- Among Levy’s career highlights, he has anchored the post-Super Bowl edition of SportsCenter for more than a decade, and travelled to MNF games to host postgame coverage for three seasons.
- In addition to his recent college football duties, Levy was the lead voice for XFL games on ABC.
Brian Griese
- The Griese name is synonymous with football, as Brian and his father, Bob, both were NFL starting quarterbacks following successful Big Ten college careers and transitioned into the broadcast booth following their playing days.
- Brian’s NFL career followed a stand-out career at Michigan. Brian went on to start more than 80 games in the NFL in his career and was named to the 2000 NFL Pro Bowl.
- During his time in the booth, Brian has called multiple marquee bowl games, including the Rose Bowl for ESPN Radio.
Louis Riddick
- Riddick’s ascent in broadcasting follows a similar trajectory to the one he paved as a player and front office executive, making the most of each opportunity and having undeniable impact on ESPN’s success.
- Riddick has been a consistent presence on Sunday NFL Countdown, NFL Live, SportsCenter, Get Up, First Take and more since he joined ESPN seven years ago.
- He was a ninth-round draft pick in the NFL which he turned into a nearly 100-game NFL career before he established himself as a front office executive with multiple teams.
Lisa Salters
- Salters has been with MNF since 2012 as a sideline reporter and continues to cover the NBA for ESPN and ABC as well.
- In 2020, Salters worked Super Bowl LIV as the sideline reporter for ESPN’s international broadcast in Australia and New Zealand.
- Earlier this year, Salters was added to the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection panel.
John Parry
- Parry is a 19-year NFL official who spent 12 years as a referee.
- Parry worked three Super Bowls – SB LIII (head referee), SB XLVI (referee) and SB XLI (side judge) – and 13 other postseason assignments as an official.