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The 41-year-old NFL analyst’s current three-year deal expires this summer, sources tell Front Office Sports. ESPN wants to sign him to a contract extension. But whether Orlovsky re-ups is still up in the air.
ESPN management loves the work ethic of the former quarterback. He’s a mainstay on the network’s NFL shoulder programming as well as studio shows like Stephen A. Smith’s First Take and Mike Greenberg’s Get Up. Orlovsky is also a homegrown talent, much like Kirk Herbstreit and Ryan Clark. He’s the kind of hardworking, team-first player that ESPN likes to retain. Following a contract impasse and some public negotiating, Clark signed a contract extension last February.
On the other hand, Orlovsky also has “options,” notes a source familiar with his situation. Rumors have been swirling that the 12-year NFL veteran will leave TV for a coaching position this offseason. ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter recently addressed the rumors on The Pat McAfee Show.
“Dan’s been talking to some teams and seeing if there’s something that interests him and is worthwhile for him,” Schefter told McAfee.
Schefter added: “I think Dan aspires to be a head coach in time. And that’s what he’d like to do. And so he’s been talking to people to see if there’s a spot that would work for him. It’s not automatic. He does a great job on TV. Obviously he could stay in TV and do that for the rest of his career if that’s what he wanted. But I think at his core, I think he misses being part of a football team.”
Rival Fox Sports was also rumored to be trying to poach Orlovsky several years ago, according to sources. I could see Fox slotting in Orlovsky as a game analyst behind Tom Brady and Greg Olsen, or giving him a chair on one of its two NFL pregame shows. An elaborate tribute to Jimmy Johnson during Fox’s Super Bowl LIX pregame show fueled speculation the 81-year-old former Cowboys coach is poised to step down from top-rated Fox NFL Sunday, though the network denies that is the case.
During Monday’s episode of First Take, Orlovsky raised eyebrows by thanking Smith, Clark, Shannon Sharpe, and Molly Qerim for a great season together.
“Never know what the future holds,” he told them. When an X/Twitter user asked whether his comments amounted to a goodbye speech, Orlovsky was evasive. “Lotta decision to be made. See what happens. I’m grateful for it all,” he tweeted back.
Orlovsky’s future with ESPN is undecided. My sources tell me his First Take comments were referencing a long family vacation he plans to take before returning for ESPN’s coverage of the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine and Draft.
Orlovsky fans hope he signs a new deal. But you never know. The former QB turned analyst could be one of those football talents like Jon Gruden, Bill Parcells, and Urban Meyer who shuttle back and forth between the media and football. ESPN analyst Jeff Saturday left for an interim head coaching job with the Colts in 2022—only to return to the network in 2023. Other ESPN NFL analysts such as Rex Ryan and Louis Riddick are also candidates for NFL jobs this offseason, sources say.
ESPN declined to comment for this story.
