Rich Eisen Talks ESPN–NFL Deal, Chance Jerry Seinfeld Encounter

SAN FRANCISCO — Rich Eisen is at the epicenter of the blockbuster NFL Network–ESPN deal. He’s the longtime face of the former, as well as a former SportsCenter anchor for the latter—in addition to licensing his eponymous talk show to ESPN platforms. 

In town for the Super Bowl, Eisen spoke with Front Office Sports about his thoughts on the deal, the evolution of the ESPN–NFL relationship, his dream guests, and a crazy story involving an impromptu meeting with Jerry Seinfeld in Manhattan. 

Some quotes have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Front Office Sports: Starting with the ESPN–NFL Network acquisition. You know both these entities quite well. What are your thoughts, and how relieved are you that it’s finally been cleared?

Rich Eisen: I was talking to some NFL Network people last night, I think the analogy is the baby that we all raised is now heading off to college. What has been birthed by the NFL and NFL Network staff, collectively, if you had told me on the first day of work at the NFL in 2003 that it would all lead back to ESPN, I would have told you you’re crazy. But it’s part and parcel of the media world we’re living in.

FOS: Even eight years ago, could you have imagined that these two institutions would be in the place they are, with all the friction they had, that now ESPN’s getting the Super Bowl and this deal happened?

RE: I think a lot of that has to do with the leadership of Jimmy Pitaro, and what relationship resets he thought were necessary. I’ve never spoken to him about it, but by all manners of observation something did need to be reset. 

Let’s just put it this way: I’m feeling a heck of a lot more excited about the future because of my re-entry into ESPN, and seeing how differently run it is, from a strategy point of view, to attitude toward talent. I would have been a heck of a lot more concerned if this happened eight years ago—that’s for sure—about what ESPN wanted to do with it. I have no qualms saying that based on my experience with my daily show that they clearly value content. They clearly love growing it, they love employing it, they love seeing what it is and keeping it intact to what made it great, and saying, “Go do that.”

In my daily experience with them on my show, they want me to do my show. It appears they’re doing the same thing with Inside the NBA and Pat McAfee. NFL Network, I think, is going to be the next example of that.

FOS: For most of your career, you’ve been a creator. Now you’ve pivoted to where you are still a host, but you’re also responsible for your business and employees. What has that change been like for you?

RE: It’s been eye-opening. I never thought I would get into this business to understand the business part of it. 

I got a call two days before Christmas [in 2019] from DirecTV telling me that my show and Dan Patrick’s would be discontinued, and my head started spinning. I didn’t know what to do, didn’t know how to go about it. But to be honest with you, it’s really just putting one foot in front of the other and finding the right people who are still part of my show and my team and getting through day-by-day—finding a way to get bigger and grow, and make a deal, and make another deal—while also understanding there’s a business aspect of it with partners, advertisers, and radio affiliates. Slowly but surely, adding other shows with my production company. It’s been a crash course and it’s been awesome.

FOS: Who is your dream guest that you haven’t already booked on the show?

RE: Two other talk-show hosts that I emulate and admire. I’ve always wanted Jon Stewart to come on and talk sports. David Letterman is someone that I grew up watching and have been stealing from every day [laughs]. 

FOS: Who was the first famous person that came into contact with you as a fan of your work and you couldn’t believe that person knew who you were?

RE: Jerry Seinfeld, back when I was on SportsCenter. I was on my way to play golf. I had a place on the Upper West Side, because I wanted to have a bit of a social life outside Connecticut. 

My friend was picking me up for golf in New Jersey on the corner of 81st and Columbus. I’m standing there with my clubs on the corner. An SUV pulls up, the window rolls down, and it’s Seinfeld in the back. He goes, “Hey! Rich Eisen! Your suits on SportsCenter are so perfectly cut!” and he made a motion with his hand to show how well-tailored he thought my suits were.

I said, “Thank you.” And he says, “81st Street. Par 4? Par 5?”

I told him I was waiting to be picked up. The light turned green and he was like, “Nice to meet you!”

FOS: Did you bring that up with him later?

RE: I told my at-the-time girlfriend, later my wife [former SportsCenter anchor Suzy Shuster] what just happened, and she goes, “I think he lives down the street. You should write him a note and drop it off with the doorman.”

I wrote him a note and left my business card. Didn’t think much of it. Two months later, it’s like 10 p.m., I’m sitting at my desk, preparing for the show. Seinfeld is on the phone. He called my work line and just wanted to shoot the shit about the Mets and other things.

It’s not like we sparked a friendship, but it’s one of those things where, later on down the line when I’m in Year 9 of my show and he’s on a promotion tour, he says yes. He comes in and we had a whole hour of conversation and it was awesome. 

That’s the stuff that I love. It’s not that I’ve reinvented any wheel here, but it was obvious from my first Super Bowl that I covered for NFL Network—which was the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction at halftime—that the biggest sporting event America has to offer stops for a rock concert and nobody bats an eyelash. Stopping a sports show today for Octavia Spencer, I didn’t think more than two seconds when my show booker asked if I wanted her. I’m like, “Hell yeah!” So I go from Charles Woodson to Octavia Spencer which I think is a unique hallmark of the show.