NBC’s Todd Blackledge Explains Why He Left ESPN After 17 Years

The former Penn State quarterback opened up to ‘The Athletic’ about his next chapter.

Everyone in college football seems to be realigning these days.

Announcers are no exception.

Former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge will serve as the color commentator on NBC telecasts this season alongside play-by-play announcer Noah Eagle, ending a 17-year association with ESPN. NBC will be the fourth different broadcaster for which Blackledge has called games, joining ABC (1994 to ’98), CBS (’99 to ’05) and ESPN (’06 to ’22).

Why did Blackledge jump ship this offseason? As he recounted to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic on Thursday, it wasn't as much what was wrong with ESPN as what was right with NBC.

“I realized that I was at a ceiling at ESPN that was not gonna change,” Blackledge said. “It took me a while when I first came over from CBS, but I came to grips with that. … But when NBC came and kind of started talking to me about what this project was going to be, what this new adventure was going to be and how they were going to try and present it, I was very intrigued.”

NBC, long known for its association with Notre Dame, purchased the rights to show select primetime Big Ten games starting this season, in a deal finalized last August.

As attractive as calling Big Ten games was to Blackledge—a Canton, Ohio native—it was ultimately the network’s approach that sealed the deal.

“They made me feel very, very important and very wanted,” Blackledge said. “And I think anybody that does anything … you want to find someplace that’s a great fit and you want to feel wanted. And you want to feel like you’re something very important to them. NBC made me feel that way.”