ESPN Signs NFL Analyst Marcus Spears to New Four-Year Deal, per Report

The former defensive end is in his 10th year in media.

ESPN will be keeping a familiar face on its NFL team for the foreseeable future.

The network has agreed to a four-year extension with NFL analyst Marcus Spears, according to a Friday evening report from Andrew Marchand of The New York Post.

Spears, 40, played defensive end for the Cowboys from 2005-12 and the Ravens in 2013. He was named to the NFL's All-Rookie team in '05 after Dallas drafted him 20th overall out of LSU.

ESPN initially brought Spears on board in April 2014 to join the then-nascent SEC Network. Eventually, he was phased into NFL analysis, and is now a regular across much of ESPN's lineup of shows.

According to Marchand, Spears "is expected to continue in his roles with the possibility for expansion over the course of the contract."

Spears’s reported extension comes amid reports that ESPN will lay off a significant number of employees, in accordance with Disney CEO Bob Iger’s February announcement that the company will cut 7,000 jobs.