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Luke Kuechly, a 2026 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, admits he has plenty of work to do in his burgeoning career as an NFL game analyst.
“It’s in progress,” Kuechly told Front Office Sports. “That’s what I’m going to say: It’s in progress.”
Kuechly is Netflix’s No. 1 NFL game analyst this year, having made his debut for the streamer calling 49ers-Rams in Melbourne, Australia, last month alongside play-by-play announcer Noah Eagle. “I had so much help getting me to that point and getting me comfortable and coaching me up and working with me before the game to make sure that I felt as comfortable as possible,” Kuechly said. The game averaged 18.5 million viewers in the U.S. on Netflix, and another 3.2 million internationally. Eagle and Kuechly received mostly positive reviews.
The former Panthers linebacker will be on the call for three more Netflix games this season: Packers-Rams on Thanksgiving Eve, a Christmas Day game, and a Week 18 matchup. Kuechly is also calling some regional NFL action for CBS—so far he’s worked Raiders-Saints in Week 2 and Titans-Ravens in Week 4. He joined CBS in 2024 as a college football analyst, but this is his first year working NFL games.
“This opportunity’s been phenomenal,” Kuechly said. “I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed my time with CBS, as well. And I try to just find things that I enjoy, that challenge me mentally, that are fun, and that are with people that I want to do it with. And both of those groups certainly check a lot of those boxes, and I enjoy it. I think it’s a ton of fun.”
With such a small sample size, the jury is still out on Kuechly’s potential as a top game analyst for Netflix or any other NFL broadcaster in 2027 and beyond. But the five-time All-Pro is ready to earn his spot in the football media landscape. “Hopefully I have an opportunity based on performance to do it again,” he said. “But we’ll see what happens.”
ESPN could be looking for a replacement for Troy Aikman next year, and the evolution of the NFL’s media rights strategy will likely mean more standalone games for broadcasters.
No More ‘We’
The national TV gig doing NFL games is a stark contrast to the work Kuechly has done as part of the Panthers’ radio team since 2022. “Fortunately, when I do the radio I can be as biased as I want because I work with the team,” Kuechly said. “So, that part’s easy. I haven’t had any (Netflix or CBS) games where I’ve had a conflict of interest—no Panthers games versus anybody else. I have to be careful not to say ‘we.’”
Kuechly will be back at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday to receive his HOF Ring of Excellence during halftime of the Buccaneers-Panthers game. After retiring following the 2019 season, Kuechly worked with Carolina as a pro scout for the 2020 season. While he has no plans to return to front office work right now, Kuechly does see the benefit that broadcasting gigs could give to analysts-turned-executives like Tom Brady, Aikman, and Matt Ryan.
“I haven’t logged the hours and meetings to really comment on that, but I’ve got to imagine if you’re talking to different teams every week and gaining perspective on what works, what doesn’t, how different teams think—I think all that stuff is very valuable for an organization,” he said.
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