Hines Ward to become sports contributor for CNN & HLN’s Morning Express

Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward who in his post-football career has been known for 30 second hits on Football Night in America and Sunday Night Football, may get the opportunity to speak more. According to The Wrap, he’s been signed to join HLN’s Morning Express With Robin Meade and as well as sister network CNN.

He’ll join Morning Express on July 1 and Ward tells The Wrap that he’s looking forward to the opportunity to speak more than 10 seconds as he did on NBC to being on CNN/HLN:

“In this next phase of my career, I am hoping to share more of myself and my experiences with the viewers, and I can’t think of a better or more prestigious platform to do that with than CNN/HLN and working with Robin Meade. I’m a big fan of Robin and her energy,” the two-time Super Bowl champion said.

Ward met with a CNN executive earlier this year and after it went well, he then met with the Morning Express crew where he apparently had instant chemistry with anchor Robin Meade, business reporter Jennifer Westhoven and meteorologist Bob Van Dillen.

Based on his NBC work, this is hard to imagine, but perhaps with the opportunity to speak more than 10 seconds per segment, we’ll get to see what CNN executives did. In addition to working on Morning Express, Ward will appear on CNN Digital as well on CNN International as an analyst on certain events. And reading between the lines, it seems that Ward will be able to expand his realm beyond sports.

Ward is also known for winning season 12 of Dancing With the Stars so those who don’t know him from sports will recognize him from the dance show.

With him being based in Atlanta, Ward won’t have to re-locate, however, The Wrap says he will  be sent to various locations across the country to report for HLN and CNN.

[The Wrap]