{"id":603217,"date":"2026-04-14T10:43:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T10:43:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/603217\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T10:43:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T10:43:12","slug":"how-nfl-players-like-brandin-cooks-and-demario-davis-train-for-a-career-in-broadcasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/603217\/","title":{"rendered":"How NFL players like Brandin Cooks and Demario Davis train for a career in broadcasting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Demario Davis was drafted by the New York Jets in 2012, and Brandin Cooks by the New Orleans Saints in 2014. But here they were, rookies again, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuited and booted,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

The two were among 24 players attending the NFL\u2019s annual broadcasting and media workshop, a three-day boot camp where they meet network executives, attend workshops and train for a possible post-playing career in the broadcasting booth or television studio.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was very impressive was how much the guys were taking up this opportunity,\u201d Davis said. \u201cYou see guys with notepads, you see them asking questions. \u2026 Guys are hungry. Though they may not need to walk into this space right away for a job, but just that desire for excellence. I think that\u2019s something that the game teaches us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Players attended meetings and panels and got time in front of the camera during the day, then stayed up until midnight learning rosters of old games they would be commenting on and studying. Producers and executives from all the major networks are on hand to answer questions about in-game TV analysis, studio work or radio broadcasting \u2014 and identify their next hires.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NFL has done a great job of creating a pipeline for players to go from one career into the next,\u201d Davis said. \u201cOver 70 percent of the athletes that you see on these sports shows came through this program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Players such as Davis, Cooks and tight end Zach Ertz are looking to follow in the footsteps of workshop alumni such as Maurice Jones-Drew, Jason McCourty and Jason Kelce<\/a> \u2014 but not quite yet. Davis, 37, recently re-signed with the Jets<\/a> as a free agent after the linebacker spent the last eight seasons with the Saints. Cooks is a free agent, but the receiver has been talking to the Buffalo Bills about returning for a second season there. Ertz is also a free agent after spending the past two seasons with the Washington Commanders.<\/p>\n

For Cooks, this is the first time he has contemplated life after football.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a blast,\u201d the 32-year-old said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a great opportunity to come learn from some of the best in our business doing media. Getting to Year 13, 14, like, what do I want to do after? This gives me an idea if it\u2019s something I really want to do in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

And?<\/p>\n

\u201cI like this,\u201d Cooks said. \u201cYou get to talk about the game that you love and stick around it. So, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough to get a spot at the workshop, which was first held in 2007. There were 90 applicants for 24 spots in this year\u2019s program. Each player was asked to answer questions to make sure this is something he is serious about and then asked to submit reels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reels are really important because we have a blue-ribbon panel of about 10 people who sit down, read every application and view every reel \u2014 of podcasts and social and on sets and anything else they\u2019ve done,\u201d said Tracy Perlman, senior vice president of NFL player operations.<\/p>\n

Some players sent in old interviews at their lockers. They were told this was their chance to be their own content creator and their reels should reflect what they want to do in the space. After the reels were screened, players were ranked 1-90, with no clear-cut criteria.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe pick some people just because of the energy that they have,\u201d Perlman said. \u201cWe pick some guys because their analysis is great. We pick other guys who seem to be a natural.\u201d<\/p>\n

That would include recently retired wide receiver Adam Thielen<\/a>, who attended last week and should be appearing on your television sooner rather than later. Retired quarterback and assistant coach Henry Burris also fared well, as did tight end Dominique Dafney, who was on the Carolina Panthers\u2019 practice squad last season.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

\n A group photo of the 2026 participants in the NFL\u2019s broadcast and media workshop. (Maddie Knight \/ NFL)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to be the star quarterback,\u201d Perlman said.<\/p>\n

That was one of the messages imparted in the opening panel led by alumni McCourty and Jones-Drew.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really to get them to relax a little bit, because you can see that they\u2019re a little bit anxious,\u201d Perlman said.<\/p>\n

This new chapter will come down to hard work and skill, players were told, no matter how big a star they were on the field. The message was to approach the three days like their playing days and get better with practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re giving you live reps real quick, giving you feedback, putting you back in the fire,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

Davis actually said he wasn\u2019t nervous. He has been thinking about life after football for, well, more than a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you have to kind of come into the league looking at life after the game,\u201d he said. \u201cFootball is what you do, but it\u2019s not who you are. And so for me, I\u2019m always trying to navigate different lanes. And I think the NFL and NFLPA have done a good job of helping guys kind of comb through that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis got his degree in communications \u2014 with a radio and television emphasis \u2014 at Arkansas State, and he feels he has two to three seasons left (he signed a two-year, $22 million deal with the Jets) before leaning into that background.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great making relationships with producers and execs of major networks,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to really spend the next couple years while I\u2019m playing getting reps \u2014 whether that\u2019s doing interviews, doing games and in off weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am just trying to figure out what people have done to have success, and where the pitfalls and the traps that people fall into are. And find my unique voice.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was most challenging in the radio sessions last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be extremely descriptive,\u201d Davis said. \u201cYou have to remember, you\u2019re looking at something that other people can\u2019t see. So being able to describe that the ball was on the right side of the field or there was a deep left corner. Quarterback broke a tackle, and he dropped back 5 yards and rolled to his left.<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching it visually and explaining it to someone else who can\u2019t see what you see is a dance that you have to learn.\u201d<\/p>\n

It does make the subsequent TV work easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy favorite part is when they get coached up after the first radio tape, and they go back in the second time, and then they knock it out of the park,\u201d Perlman said.<\/p>\n

When she first scheduled a session with players and network executive producers and directors, Perlman thought 90 minutes was a little ambitious.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it takes an hour and 45 because the guys won\u2019t stop asking questions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Players learn just how big their circles and networks are.<\/p>\n

\"Brandin<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Brandin Cooks, center, shares a laugh with Demario Davis, left, and Efe Obada. (Maddie Knight \/ NFL)<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see all the possibilities really start to formulate in their head,\u201d Perlman said. \u201cSome realize they actually might enjoy doing radio. And I do think that guys start thinking about \u2026 \u2018You know what? If I don\u2019t get a job here, I\u2019m going to go local. If I don\u2019t get a job here, I\u2019m going to call my school.\u2019 Because what we keep telling them is you have such a huge network \u2014 don\u2019t rely on these five pregame shows because that seat is hard to come by.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each player left Thursday with an hour-and-40-minute reel of every rep they filmed or recorded at the workshop. They can send those out when looking for bye-week work next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cGet your reps,\u201d Perlman said.<\/p>\n

Initially, Cooks didn\u2019t think he would enjoy working a TV broadcast. All that time to fill on air. All that idle chatter. But he was wrong.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoy, did I have fun with Noah Eagle, talking about the Pittsburgh and Baltimore games from last year,\u201d Cooks said.<\/p>\n

Eagle was one of several current play-by-play broadcasters helping in what is a league-wide and multi-network effort to help players build bridges to their futures.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the most collaborative programs that we host, and it\u2019s filling the networks\u2019 pipeline, but at the same time, they\u2019re pouring into our players,\u201d Perlman said. \u201cI\u2019m really appreciative that we\u2019re able to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The players really enjoy it. Davis said it was like being back in a locker room with everyone on hand last week. But Cooks said there was also some competitive fire burning after all the hugs and back slaps, in a good way.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re having a lot of laughs, but it\u2019s a healthy competition, for sure,\u201d Cooks said. \u201cObviously, you want to walk away and be considered the best. I mean, that\u2019s why we\u2019re football players, and that\u2019s what got us into this sport in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Demario Davis was drafted by the New York Jets in 2012, and Brandin Cooks by the New Orleans…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":603218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[1748,49,48,1734,1723,514,82,575],"class_list":{"0":"post-603217","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-buffalo-bills","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-new-orleans-saints","12":"tag-new-york-jets","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-sports-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/603218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}