Brent Musburger is returning to broadcasting as the voice of the Oakland — and soon-to-be Las Vegas — Raiders. In other news, Boomer Esiason is dropping his radio role, ESPN has renewed an SEC Network trio, and former coach Jeff Fisher will get a TV tryout.
Musburger Reportedly New Raiders Radio Voice
Former CBS and ESPN/ABC play-by-play voice
Brent Musburger has agreed to a three-year deal to become the new radio voice of the Oakland Raiders, the
Las Vegas Review Journal reported Tuesday. First word of the deal came Monday via a
Rudy Martzke tribute Twitter account.
Musburger, who retired from national broadcasting early last year, would replace longtime Raiders voice Greg Papa.
The reported length of the deal means that Musburger will call Raiders games when the team moves to Las Vegas in 2020. Musburger currently lives and works in Las Vegas, where he hosts a radio show on VSiN, a gambling-focused outlet launched by his nephew. [FakeRudyMartzke 7.16, Las Vegas Review-Journal 7.17]
Esiason Relinquishing Westwood One Role
CBS
NFL Today analyst
Boomer Esiason is leaving his role as the lead NFL game analyst for Westwood One radio, ending an 18-year run that included calling
Monday Night Football games and the Super Bowl. According to Newsday, Esiason will work one more game for Westwood One, the September 6 Falcons-Eagles season opener. [Westwood One
7.16, Newsday
7.16]
ESPN Renews Finebaum, SEC Network Colleagues
ESPN Radio host and SEC Network analyst
Paul Finebaum will remain with ESPN under a contract extension announced last week. Finebaum, who joined ESPN in 2013, will continue in his current roles on his eponymous show and on SEC Network’s
SEC Nation college football pregame.
His SEC Nation colleagues Laura Rutledge and Marcus Spears have also reached extensions, with those deals announced Tuesday. [ESPN PR 7.13, 7.17]
Fisher to Get FOX Tryout in September
Former NFL coach
Jeff Fisher is scheduled to work one NFL game on FOX this season, with the possibility of additional assignments, the
New York Post reported last week. Fisher will work alongside play-by-play voice
Dan Hellie on Jets-Jaguars in Week 4.
Sporting News had previously reported that Fisher was in talks to join FOX in a larger role, perhaps even as the network’s #2 analyst. [NYP
7.12, Sporting News
7.11]
