Dan Patrick successfully campaigned for Brent Musburger to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and now he’s doing the same for Mel Kiper Jr.
Musburger is set to receive the 2025 Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, with Patrick’s advocacy likely playing a significant role in making it happen. Now, the longtime radio host and former SportsCenter anchor is pushing for Kiper to join him in Canton.
And Patrick isn’t alone in his quest. Kiper’s ESPN colleague Matt Miller, who just signed a new deal with the network, also supports the idea. He called for Kiper to be inducted into the Hall of Fame after the 2024 NFL Draft.
As for Mel, he’s definitely flattered — and at a loss for words — but he’s not on board with Patrick’s campaign just yet.
“I just believe there are so many people that just, you’re fortunate, you get a little luck on your side, you’re around great people,” Kiper deflected. “I was, Dan. I was around you all those years.”
“You changed an industry,” said an impassioned Patrick. “What you have meant to the NFL, it’s a different version of John Facenda. Like, he was the voice, and you were the draft guy. It’s a cottage industry that you created. That is contributions to the game. I know you’re modest; I don’t care. I’m going forward with it. You deserve to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You do.”
“To me, you get into this, and you see so many people that were responsible with ESPN for what’s happened,” Kiper replied. “So you say, I did this? ESPN really did it, because they televised this thing when the NFL didn’t really want it to be televised. Think about that. Think about all the great producers that I worked with—Bill Fitz, who offered me that position in ’84. John Wildhack, you think about what he did. [Fred] Gaudelli was able to coach me along and teach me so many things about this business. Jay Rothman, Brian Ryder, Robert Damsky — all the great producers that we’ve had.”
Patrick cut off Kiper, insisting he was already giving his Hall of Fame speech.
“Seth Markman has believed in me all this year,” Kiper continued. “Seth has been a great friend. All the ESPN guys, they were responsible. And all the people that cut those highlight packages, all that work behind [the scenes], they were responsible for the draft success. Keep in mind, ESPN televised the draft before I got here. The draft was on ESPN before I became part of the telecast.”
That might be true, but Kiper changed how we consume the draft; he just did.
“Well, I appreciate that, but for John Facenda, what you just said — ‘The Voice,'” says Kiper. “That voice, Dan, pulled people into the NFL.”
Kiper may not have the deep baritone of Facenda, but his influence on the draft is undeniable. And as for his voice, Kiper’s famously had its critics. The late George Young, the New York Giants’ GM, used to joke that Kiper needed a voice coach, even suggesting he lose his Baltimore accent. Kiper’s response? “Whatever I am, I am.”
And to Patrick, he’s a Hall of Famer.
“I would say, Dan, give that up,” Kiper told his former ESPN colleague. “You know, I got a lot of people in the league that hate me. A lot of people in the league hate me and have hated me for a long time. I do not think anything NFL-related will ever come, and that will never work hand-in-hand, Dan.”
We’ll see. Time will tell.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.