Tom Jackson is leaving ESPN after covering the NFL for the network since 1987. Here are five former players that could fill the void of Jackson on the set.
Since 1987, former Denver Broncos star linebacker Tom Jackson has been a key piece in ESPN’s coverage of the NFL. After 29 years worth of great work on the set for ESPN, Jackson has decided to leave ESPN at the age of 65.
This could correspond to several different things with regards to ESPN. Disney has made a series of poor investments that have led to layoffs across all of its companies, including ESPN. Jackson’s longtime on-air partner of Chris Berman is going to retire after the 2016 season, having been one of two key ESPN employees since the very beginning in 1979, the other being Bob Ley.
ESPN could also want a fresh face on their football show sets as a result of perpetually declining television ratings. Jackson has done great work with ESPN, but much of ESPN’s NFL viewership has basically forgotten who he was a player on the Broncos’ Orange Crush defense.
Perhaps the best thing that ESPN can do with their television coverage is to bring in a fresh face to the company, someone who young adults remember starring in the league and could offer strong opinions. Anticipate ESPN to hire a former star player with interesting insight and potentially controversial stances on issues to drive ratings. Here are five former players that ESPN could hire to replace Jackson on set for the 2016 NFL season.
Next: 5. Bill Romanowski.