This season marks a fascinating time in NFL broadcasting, with several high-profile personalities in the final year of their current deals. One of those who has his future sorted out is Kirk Herbstreit\u2026 or maybe not.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Andrew Marchand at\u00a0<\/a>The Athletic\u00a0reported that Herbstreit was re-signing with Amazon Prime Video<\/a> to continue as the lead analyst for\u00a0Thursday Night Football. But there\u2019s a catch. Amazon can move on from Herbstreit if one of its preferred targets becomes available later.<\/p>\n Come again?<\/p>\n Has there ever been a conditional deal in broadcasting or any other industry where you can be replaced if someone better becomes available? How can that even be considered a contract or agreement? And if you were approached with a similar offer in the real world, would anyone be content to sign something like that? Or would you view it as an insult and walk away to someone who truly valued you?<\/p>\n It was a bit of a shock when Kirk Herbstreit first signed with Amazon in 2022<\/a> to call NFL games on Thursday nights alongside Al Michaels. Before TNF, Herbstreit had never been involved in NFL broadcasting, even after starring for decades as a college football studio and game analyst at ESPN. But for the last four years, he has pulled double duty as one of sports\u2019 busiest people. During the fall, he now calls NFL games on Thursdays, College GameDay on Saturday mornings, and ABC\u2019s primetime college football game on Saturday nights.<\/p>\n But for Herbstreit\u2019s star power and notoriety, his partnership with Al Michaels has never truly clicked at Amazon<\/a>. Part of that is because Michaels is in the twilight of his career. The other part is that the two have never really developed on-air chemistry. And for as accomplished as Herbstreit is as an analyst, he\u2019s never really captured the imagination of NFL fans or resonated the way he has on the college side. Herbstreit and Michaels have ranked 8th in the Awful Announcing NFL broadcaster rankings<\/a> in each of the last two seasons.<\/p>\n And it seems like Amazon Prime Video is equally as ambivalent toward Kirk Herbstreit as its lead NFL analyst as fans are.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no explanation for something this unprecedented. While current Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay is mentioned as Amazon\u2019s dream target, and maybe even the preferred partner of Michaels, what are the chances of him actually moving into broadcasting next season? McVay has been talked about a lot as the NFL\u2019s next broadcasting star, but he\u2019s only 40 and coaching the most talented team in the league. It\u2019s not like he\u2019s had the lengthy career of Mike Tomlin.<\/p>\n But the real question for Amazon is who else is on their list of \u201cbetter than Kirk Herbstreit.\u201d Does it include another future free agent in ESPN\u2019s Troy Aikman<\/a>? Does it include Fox\u2019s Greg Olsen<\/a>? What about Travis Kelce<\/a>? An unlikely lifeline for Tony Romo<\/a>?<\/p>\n Just how extensive is that list? It can\u2019t make Kirk Herbstreit feel great knowing that his current employer only wants him around if they have to settle.<\/p>\n Amazon is reportedly going to pay Herbstreit over $10 million per year if he indeed continues on\u00a0Thursday Night Football. That\u2019s not bad for anyone, no matter how far down the totem pole you might be. And with his contract also up at ESPN, it may suggest he wants to keep covering college football there, and that whether his NFL career continues isn\u2019t paramount. While Herbstreit has mentioned giving up GameDay in the past, he\u2019s now pledged his future to working alongside Pat McAfee<\/a>. Thursday games let him keep covering the college game on the weekends; another NFL gig wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Perhaps that\u2019s why he\u2019s content with this peculiar \u201ccontract.\u201d Not many of us have a second job worth millions of dollars that we can fall back on easily if something doesn\u2019t work out. But the way this news broke is also a bit of a tick against his NFL broadcasting legacy. This development does Kirk Herbstreit no favors now that it\u2019s in the public record.<\/p>\n