Chris Berman has signed a multi-year contract extension that will take him through ESPN’s first Super Bowl in 2027, and his record 50th year at the network.
The six-time national sportscaster of the year will contribute to ESPN’s coverage of Super Bowl LXI on Feb. 14, 2027, in Los Angeles. Berman, nicknamed “Boomer,” celebrated his 70th birthday on May 10. The 2027 Super Bowl will be the 45th Berman has covered. ESPN’s Super Bowl coverage will be simulcast on sister Disney network ABC.
The legendary sportscaster joined ESPN a month after its launch on September 7, 1979. The extension will take him through the company’s 50th birthday on Sep. 7, 2029. A few weeks later, he’ll become the first person to spend five decades with the company.
Over the decades, Berman has become famous for catchphrases like “He could…go…all…the…way,” “Whoop!” and “Back, Back, Back, Back, Back.” But many sports fans recognize him most for his player nicknames, including Bert “Be Home” Blyleven, Andre “Bad Moon” Rison, and Mike “You’re in Good Hands with” Alstott.
“I came to ESPN at 24 years young for my first full-time TV job. I had a full head of hair, was wet behind the ears, and my assignment was to host the wrap-up SportsCenter at 2:30 a.m. ESPN had been on the air for less than a month, and we had fewer than 100 employees,” says Berman in a statement. “Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined turning 70 and still being here at our network, which long ago became an icon of sports broadcasting. We’re closing in on our very first Super Bowl, and now I will be able to be part of that, too.”
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro heaped praise on Berman: “For a remarkable half-century, Chris has embodied ESPN with his smart and entertaining style. Boomer’s enjoyment of sports jumps through the screen and generations of fans have loved being along for the ride. ESPN has been so fortunate to have Chris making us better for decades and I am delighted that will continue beyond our 50th anniversary. And no studio broadcaster has meant more to NFL coverage than Chris and to have his presence on our first Super Bowl presentation is both apropos and significant.”
Berman has said many times that he’s proudest of hosting NFL PrimeTime, his award-winning NFL highlights show on ESPN, from 1987 to 2005. With Berman’s rat-a-tat–tat narration and a driving soundtrack, PrimeTime has been hailed as one of history’s greatest sports programs. Before the internet and the RedZone channel, it was the ultimate must-see TV for NFL fans and fantasy football players. It ranked as the highest-rated studio show in cable TV history before shifting to ESPN+ streaming platform in 2006.
Berman’s 30-year partnership with the retired Tom Jackson on ESPN studio shows (including 19 years together on PrimeTime) was just one year short of the longest-serving duo on TV: Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon’s 31 years together on NBC’s The Tonight Show. Jackson retired in 2020 and was replaced by Booger McFarland. Berman also hosted Sunday NFL Countdown for 31 years. As the longtime host of ESPN’s NFL Draft coverage, he played an early and vital role in turning the draft into the league’s marquee off-season event.
Berman also anchored ABC’s Super Bowl pregame shows in 2000, 2003 and 2006. But those were produced under the aegis of the old ABC Sports; not ESPN. ABC last televised the Big Game in 2006, with its coverage of Super Bowl XL.
Berman is almost as famous for his MLB work, covering 31 All-Star games and 30 World Series for ESPN, including the 1989 San Francisco earthquake.
The Brown University history major joined ESPN in 1979 after working as a disc jockey, sports expert, and traffic reporter at radio and TV stations in Rhode Island and Connecticut. During his first decade with the network, he often hosted 10 SportsCenters a week, helping to turn the highlights show into ESPN’s flagship offering.
Since its early years, ESPN has dreamed of producing a Super Bowl. Most of the network’s biggest NFL talent hires have been made with an eye toward televising its first two Super Bowls after the 2026 and 2030 seasons.
In 2022, Pitarao hired Fox’s No. 1 NFL announcing team of Troy Aikman and Joe Buck. The duo will cost ESPN $95 million and $65 million respectively over five years, but they called six Super Bowls together at Fox: more than any broadcast duo since the late John Madden and Pat Summerall. Two years later, Pitaro signed Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions to a 10-year contract extension. Peyton and Eli Manning will provide ManningCasts for both ESPN Super Bowls.
This year, Burke Magnus, ESPN’s president of content, made two more key hires. He brought in director Artie Kempner from Fox, with an eye toward having the award-winning director direct both Super Bowls. Kempner directed two of Aikman and Buck’s Super Bowl telecasts. Magnus also elevated longtime producer Andy Tennant to the new role of vice president of Super Bowl in January. His job is to simply focus on how ESPN will cover its first two Super Bowls.
“We want to redefine what covering a Super Bowl looks like,” Magnus told Front Office Sports at last year’s inaugural “Tuned In” sports media summit.
On Tuesday, ESPN will reveal details on its new streaming platform, known internally as “Flagship.” Also on Tuesday, parent Disney will make its upfront presentation to advertisers at the Javits Center in New York.
