Super Bowl Sunday will mark the end of an era for NFL Network.

The league-owned network will no longer operate under the NFL umbrella starting next season after the federal government approved the league’s equity deal with ESPN last weekend. As part of the agreement, ESPN will gain ownership of NFL Network, linear distribution rights for NFL RedZone, and some other ancillary businesses like the NFL’s fantasy football platform.

As such, the future of NFL Network shows is firmly up in the air. It’s unclear exactly what ESPN has in mind for NFL Network programming. But it’s safe to say there will likely be some level of change, whether to the programming lineup, the NFL Network broadcasters, or both.

Super Bowl LX is the last time NFL Network, in its current iteration, will cover a game. So on Sunday afternoon, the network’s flagship pregame show, NFL GameDay Morning starring Rich Eisen, Kurt Warner, Gerald McCoy, and Steve Mariucci, took a moment to bid farewell.

We love you @nflnetwork ❤️ pic.twitter.com/NDVZQ5E9eb

— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) February 8, 2026

“I requested this personally because everybody knows the merger has happened,” Gerald McCoy began. “It’s public knowledge of what could and may happen with all of us. And I want to say first to the ladies, thank you all for keeping me on my P’s and Q’s with my dress code and making sure I’m showing up properly. Kyle, you’ve given me a lot of different tips and different ways to grow in this business. But to my uncles, I want to explain to everybody why this is the best morning show on TV, because this is a family. Michael Irvin was here, and they had a brotherhood. They had a family. I know it wasn’t easy accepting me in, but you all accepted me with open arms. You all made me feel very welcome,” an emotional McCoy said.

“Rich, you’re one of the greatest minds I’ve ever been around. You are a master at what you do, and I’ve learned a lot from you. Mooch, your spirit, how much you love, your preparation. We give you a hard time about those cards, but I watch you every week prepare because you leave no stone unturned. And that is why you are as good as you are at what you do. And Kurt, man, a person who stands on what they believe, regardless of what everybody else is saying, I learned that from you. You will not waver if you believe in it. And you taught me how to be myself on this set. I know it wasn’t easy. I know it was not easy because that’s a family. But you all accepted me in as family. So, regardless of what happens, you all are my family. We are not coworkers. We are family. I love everybody in NFL Network, but you three for sure, I know how hard it was. So it means, seriously, thank you so much. I appreciate it,” McCoy finished.

“Well said. If I may speak for us, to you in particular, you made it easy,” Eisen responded. “You made it easy. I see your tears, too, Cynthia [Frelund]. I just want to say this, mergers are scary, obviously, for the entity that’s being acquired. But there’s a reason why NFL Network was as valued as it was. Just look up the finances of this deal. It’s because of all of us here, everybody behind a camera, everybody back in a control room, everybody over the last 23 years that made NFL Network what it is, what it became, and what it will continue to be.

“What I fully feel in my bones, that the NFL Network 2.0 is basically NFL Network 1.0 being dropped off at college. We are ready to roll, and every single person here, those in tears here, those who are behind the cameras and again back home and all the alums, we’re proud of what we’ve done, and we look forward to the future, and I do love you all. I appreciate what you had to say. … That will wrap it up for us right here on the turf.”

Given NFL GameDay Morning‘s stature, it’d be hard to imagine ESPN doing away with the show entirely. It might look different, however. Perhaps a different cast, different hours, or a different mission. Who knows? But there’s clearly an appreciation among the current crew for what the show and the network overall have built over more than two decades. Their hope is that they’ll continue to do the same work under ESPN ownership.