ESPN Legend Chris Berman to Retire After the 2029 NFL Season
With ESPN preparing to host its first-ever Super Bowl in 2025, legendary broadcaster Chris Berman has set a retirement date.
During a recent appearance on the CNBC Sports podcast with Alex Sherman, Berman noted that his current contract with the Worldwide Leader continues through the 2029 NFL season.
Photo: ESPN
At the end of his current deal, Berman plans to hang it up.
A Legendary Career
Since joining ESPN on September 8, 1979, Berman has solidified himself as one of the legends of sports media.
Chris Berman in the ESPN Newsroom. Photo: ESPN
For the first ten years of his ESPN career, the broadcaster hosted SportsCenter, NFL GameDay, and NFL Countdown. It was during this time that he debuted his now-iconic Swami character.
Eventually, however, it was his work on NFL PrimeTime that would make him a household name.
Photo: IMDB
The show debuted in 1987, shortly after ESPN secured its first football rights, and would go on to become the highest-rated studio program in cable history. Over his 31-year run on the show, Berman helped transform sports media and introduced some of the most memorable nicknames and catchphrases in the industry.
AN ESPN Lifer
In addition to his work on NFL PrimeTime, Berman became widely known for his Fastest Three Minutes segment, which originally aired during Sunday Night Football before later moving to Monday Night Football.
Photo: ESPN
“I came to ESPN at 24 years young for my first full-time TV job. I had a full head of hair, was wet behind the ears, and my assignment was to host the wrap-up SportsCenter at 2:30 a.m. ESPN had been on the air for less than a month and we had fewer than 100 employees,” he recalled last year.
“Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined turning 70 and still being here at our network, which long ago became an icon of sports broadcasting. We’re closing in on our very first Super Bowl, and now I will be able to be part of that, too.”
Photo: ESPN
When Berman’s contract ends, he will have worked at ESPN for 50 years. It is a milestone that the broadcaster has long had his eyes on.
“I’m just so proud of what we’ve been from Day 1 to getting a Super Bowl,” Berman told CNBC.
