Beyond food, Spears is extremely passionate about talking about football. Following a strong college and NFL career as a defensive end with LSU, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Baltimore Ravens, he jumped into broadcasting full-time shortly after his retirement from the NFL. He’d previously done some local broadcasting while with the Cowboys, then joined SEC Network in 2014.
Spears made a quick impression on SECN shows such as SEC Nation and Thinking Out Loud, started to get some more opportunities at the main ESPN network on shows like College Football Live and SportsCenter, and signed an extension in 2018. From there, his commentary career took off even further, especially when he joined the revamped NFL Live in 2019.
Spears signed a big four-year extension last year, which has him continuing on NFL Live but also serving as a regular on Monday Night Countdown since last fall and making frequent appearances on other shows, from SportsCenter to Get Up to First Take. A year into that extension, Spears said he’s very happy he decided to stick with ESPN, with Monday Night Countdown particularly fun for him given its trips to the site of the Monday Night Football game each week.
“I feel good about it. Monday Night Countdown has been kind of a re-energizing show for me, because we’re in the elements. I get a chance to smell the grass, be around [Ryan] Clark, who’s been on Countdown, and Jason Kelce, who we added this year, who’s been a phenomenal addition, and obviously Scott Van Pelt, who’s known by everybody for hosting.
“But me and RC would walk in a stadium, we were in San Francisco in Week 1, and we smelt the grass, and we were like ‘I remember this feeling of getting ready for a game.’ It’s just taking advantage, taking it all in, realizing you’ve made it to the NFL. And that show does that for me weekly.”
Spears said Kelce has been an excellent (and often funny) addition to that show. He feels the former Eagles’ offensive lineman has a strong broadcasting career ahead of him.
“It’s been a lot of fun working with him. Obviously, coming on television for the first time, there are just some things that you’ve got to get comfortable with, and seeing him work through that but also not letting his personality shrink, you know he’s going to be real good at this. And that was the thing that I dealt with, getting in and out of commercials, making sure you’re wrapping up at the right time so they can fulfill their deals, passing the ball around, being who you are.
“I think the thing that is going to work with Jason going forward is being authentic. I’m a firm believer that authenticity is going to carry you versus trying to be something that you have this idea you should be. But it’s been fun, man; he’s funny, he’s an o-lineman, so they don’t really care about their looks like some, he’s fresh off the field so everything still feels real new to him.
“His face when we go on the field, in these stadiums, we’re like ‘Jason, you don’t have to get ready to play, bro. We’re just going to sit here in suits, and we’re going to relax, and we’re going to have a good time.’ He’s been enjoying it, he’s been doing a phenomenal job, and his personality is phenomenal.”
Scott Van Pelt: “Jason, when you start pushing them and they can’t stop you, that has to be the best feeling there is.”
Jason Kelce: “There’s nothing more I love than pushing it on another grown man and just taking it over. Yes Scott, you are absolutely correct.” pic.twitter.com/Fx7zzNC4f8
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 24, 2024
Spears said NFL Live continues to be a great place for him as well, and a key part of that is the chemistry he and the other regulars (host Laura Rutledge and analysts Clark, Mina Kimes, and Dan Orlovsky) have built.
“NFL Live, man, that’s my family. That’s like getting together with a group of friends and being able to talk football, and doing it at a very high level, but also laughing and enjoying it. And as long as I’m having fun, I’m going to be at ESPN. If I stop having fun, I’m going home, and I’m going to fish and make chicken sandwiches and fish fry.”
He said it’s remarkable to see the way NFL Live has taken off in the last few years, which perhaps wasn’t entirely expected even by management. And Spears cites the cast’s connections and bonds for that.
“I don’t think they knew that NFL Live would become this. It was a staple, it was an institution, but daily studio shows are very difficult to keep synergy and continuity with if everybody’s not driving to that studio every day and being on set together. And I think we managed in that group, one, we’re all real friends, which, you cover this business, you know it’s not the case all the time. We talk with each other, we check in on each others’ families. We talk in the offseason when football is not going on. And I think that comes through the camera; I think people that watch it, they relate to it, because it looks like people enjoying the company of others.”
Spears said the show also works well because of its somewhat-unusual combination of people.
“There’s also two prominent females on the show, Laura, who I consider to be the best host in all of sports, and Mina, who is a lightning rod. She’s different. She’s someone that never was supposed to talk about football, and does it at a higher level than most people in the business.
“And then there’s a backup quarterback in Dan Orlovsky, not a superstar, who made his way on television by being good at television, not by being good at football. I’m not saying he wasn’t good at football, but usually those spots are reserved for a known name that everyone wants to tune in to see.
“Ryan Clark, obviously, RC was a Pro Bowler, he won a Super Bowl with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he wasn’t drafted in the first round, he wasn’t Troy Polamalu or Ed Reed. Myself as a defensive lineman, I was not Aaron Donald or Chris Jones or Warren Sapp. I think people gravitate to it because it’s all kind of normal; our paths are completely different, but it’s something that we embraced.”
He said they’ve focused on a mix of being funny (with that sometimes even extending to trolling from the production staff) and informative.
“We decided that one, we were going to make fun the most important thing going into the show, but also make sure we give different and detailed information about football that people can walk away and understand. It’s the laughs, it’s the jokes, it’s the ability to get football across, it’s the entertainment value of it, that I think has changed the way it’s perceived.”
After several minutes of the “NFL Live” cast discussing how they like the Chiefs over the Bengals, their graphics department trolled them by showing them all picking Cincinnati. That drew quick rebuttals and disclaimers: “We all picked the Chiefs, actually!” pic.twitter.com/4NKxF8kkiD
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 13, 2024
Spears said the show also wants to make a wide variety of viewers feel welcome, including the growing female audience for NFL content.
“We bring in a bunch of different demographics of audience, and it only strengthens ratings, and strengthens the number of people watching. And the women that watch it, because women are being featured prominently along with these guys that played, and they’re shown a high level of respect. It’s something that only real people that care about each other, I think, can pull off, and I think that’s what we set out to do.”
Spears said he thinks a key to attracting female viewers is respecting their intelligence and their knowledge of the game, and showing that they’re welcome in the football world. He said having on-air talents like Rutledge and Kimes helps with that.
“I think we’ve got to give women credit for how much they know. And I love that Mina and Laura are on our show because it’s a daily reminder, or a large majority of the week reminder, that women are actually engrained in this. And now we have women on the sidelines in games that actually coach and contribute to winning games. But I think women just realize that the football element in it, and not what’s in and around the sport, is very interesting.
“And how you present and disseminate that information, obviously, is very important. Women are more detailed than men, so we have to appeal to the learning of the game. And more importantly, we have to appeal and let them know that ‘You invited to this. You can have a seat at the table. You can be a part of real conversations about football, which you should have always been, because women have been engrained in sports forever.'”
Spears said he thinks there have always been many women deeply passionate and knowledgeable about sports, but what’s changed more recently has been about companies recognizing that.
“I’m willing to say I’m biased; when I grew up, my sister played basketball, so I’ve been around women and sports before I even started playing sports. And I know how much they enjoy the games and understand about the games. I think now it’s just being highlighted. And if you don’t have that representation like a Mina Kimes that’s actually talking about the game and breaking the game down, then you miss that opportunity.”
He said it’s remarkable to see the amount of women in prominent roles across networks’ NFL coverage now, and that’s further helped grow the league’s female audience.
“Usually, when you’re represented in the space, you pay more attention to it. That’s just what it boils down to. And I think there are a lot of phenomenal women across the platforms now, the Joy Taylors, the Taylor Rooks, the Kaylee Hartungs, the Maria Taylors, that are not only hosting and asking questions, they’re talking about the game and how much they love it and they enjoy it. The Michelle Beisner-Bucks bringing great stories, the Lisa Salters, those women, they know the game.
“So I think it’s just being highlighted more, it’s being talked about more. I think women are gravitating to it because one, they see representation of themselves, and now they’re realizing that a bunch of viewers love to have them here.”
The latest
“Everything has been great. There’s been reorgs and everything like that, but I’ve been able to meet with Burke Magnus and Mike Foss, and me and Jimmy Pitaro have a really good relationship, Mike McQuade, there’s a bunch of people there that have been there in television, but who are also open to knowing that Disney has changed, this landscape has changed.
“A lot of the things that we’re doing, 10-15 years ago, it would have been like ‘What are they doing?’ with a lot of things we’re doing now that are normal and fun. It’s without trying to put on a comedy show, but with realizing that if you’re not having a good time, people watching are not having a good time. So it’s been fun, it’s been super fun, and ESPN’s been really good to me.”
To bring things back to food, Spears has a great relationship with fellow NFL Live panelist Orlovsky, but that’s despite their very-different takes on eating. Spears has often talked about his love of food, including on air, while Orlovsky’s food opinions are frequently controversial, and have included pushes for unseasoned chicken. Last year, Spears told AA “His food experience is just one of the worst that I’ve ever encountered.” Now, he said he’s trying to expand Orlovsky’s food horizons, and that’s sometimes been successful, but has sometimes been a challenge.
“I try to, like, bring him along. But Dan and food, his food ability sucks. He doesn’t even want to adventure. We’ve pushed him probably as far as we possibly can. And to his credit, he’s taken part and realized, like, ‘Oh, this is good!’ And it’s like ‘Yeah, we’ve been telling you this for two years!’ But I think it’s just who he is.
“If Dan could eat chicken and white rice every meal, he’d be fine. And we just keep telling him there’s more to life, there’s more when you actually enjoy a meal and sit down and have a good meal. And we’ve had some opportunities with him like that, and it’s been phenomenal. His food ability sucks, though.”
Spears said he’s determined to get Orlovsky to try a good, seasoned fried chicken sandwich in New Orleans around the Super Bowl, though.
“He’s going to try one in New Orleans. If I have to strap him down and feed it to him, he’s going to try one. I think he trusts me enough now to know that I’m going to give him stuff that tastes good. But it’s still some days where you’ve got to force it.”
