SI

Five NFL Broadcast Situations We’re Looking Forward To Watching

New faces and new partners that have big potential for the 2024 NFL season.

Jimmy Traina

Jason Kelce and Bill Belichick are now in sports media.
Jason Kelce and Bill Belichick are now in sports media. / USA Today Images

1. We are now deep in that time of the summer when football is at the front of the brain. Preseason games have started, you’ve begun scouting the season win total over/under for betting purposes, you’re preparing for your fantasy football draft and three weeks from Thursday, we will be treated to Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth calling the season opener between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs.

The new NFL season brings about many broadcasting changes. Here are five we’re looking forward to the most.

- The no-brainer of all no-brainers: How will Tom Brady do as Fox’s lead NFL analyst working alongside the excellent Kevin Burkhardt? If Brady doesn’t hold back and lets it fly, I think he will be great. His biggest issue is that he’s replacing a big fan favorite and media favorite in Greg Olsen. That puts Brady behind the 8-ball to start. But if Brady can share his expert insight while showing some personality, he will win over rational viewers. There will be a group of irrational viewers who never warm up to Brady because he beat their teams for 20 years in a row.

- CBS’ new booth of Andrew Catalon, Jason McCourty and Tiki Barber. I’m usually opposed to three-person booths, but I’m looking forward to hearing this one in action. Catalon is the most underrated NFL broadcaster on any network, and McCourty was a very good listen in his first season as an analyst in 2023. Will McCourty and Barber gel? If they do, this will become a very popular booth with fans.

- Fox pairing Adam Amin and Mark Sanchez. Amin worked with Mark Schlereth last season while Sanchez was teamed with Kevin Kugler. I think Amin could be the breakout play-by-play caller of 2024 now that he’s paired with Sanchez, who has improved each year he’s been in the booth. Sanchez has found that right mix of analyzing X’s and O’s but also keeping things light and having fun. It was very smart of Fox to pair up these two guys.

- Bill Belichick: Media Star. The man who was famous for his battles with the media will be EVERYWHERE this season. Belichick will be on with Pat McAfee every week. He’ll be part of the ManningCast every Monday. He’ll be a panelist on Inside the NFL. He’s launching his own football show with Underdog. And I would expect one more announcement soon about another weekly gig for Belichick. Will Belichick provide valuable content for NFL fans or is he just keeping busy until he gets another head coaching job?

- Jason Kelce on Monday Night Countdown: The people in sports media who succeed have unique personalities. It’s not a revelation to say that Kelce has a unique personality. And as he has shown on his New Heights podcast, he like to throw out takes, no matter how controversial. He’s gotten himself in hot water a couple of times and that’s a good thing. It means you’re not boring. Kelce is obviously far from boring, and I think he will have excellent chemistry with Scott Van Pelt on the show.

2. Here’s some reaction to the 70–50 Yankees losing to the 29–91 White Sox by a score of 12–2 Monday night.

3. A lot of people tuned in to watch the U.S. men’s basketball team win a gold medal on Saturday afternoon at the Paris Games.

4. ESPN will air an E60 episode dedicated to Armando Galarraga’s 2010 perfect game that wasn’t a perfect game on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET. I will definitely be setting the DVR for this based on the trailer.

5. This commercial featuring Titans quarterback Will Levis is both amusing and vile at the same exact time.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina is an all–Traina Thoughts edition with Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York.

Among the topics discussed on the podcast: The shocking news that Charles Barkley will not retire or join ESPN, NBC or Amazon and remain with TNT after the network loses the NBA; the debut of the new NFL kickoff rule; the news that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon are working on a movie about Hulk Hogan taking down Gawker and Deadspin; reaction to my interview with CM Punk from the previous week; the recent booking issues between SiriusXM’s Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and NBC’s Mike Tirico and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: On this date in 1982, one of the greatest comedies of all time was released.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina

JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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