ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky recently signed a multi-year contract extension with the network after seriously considering offers from other broadcasters. On the “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” podcast released Thursday, he described how close he was to leaving ESPN, with the former NFL quarterback using a lesson he learned while playing as the impetus for his job search.
“I came close to very seriously entertaining other places,” Orlovsky told Traina. “I think what I’ve learned is I do myself a disservice if I don’t... My wife always would say in my playing days that there was an element where I was the nice guy, so I would go to a team or stay with a team because the team wanted me there, maybe not taking a different opportunity and just trying to be conscious of that.”
He added that he had a lot of deep conversations with his wife, Tiffany, about his next move, which was important considering he had been working his “absolute freaking tail off” since joining the network in 2018.
Even though he still held ESPN in high regard, the analyst did have a meeting with CBS, thanks to a couple of friendships he had with people at the network. He came away impressed with the meeting, where he learned they wanted him to start by covering college football.
“It wasn’t going to be just a college opportunity,” Orlovsky said. “There was going to be, maybe not like that day, but in the future, whether it was a month from then, six months from then, a year from then, it was going to be an all-encompassing opportunity, and that was really enticing.”
Despite the attractive CBS offer, Orlovsky ultimately chose to stay with ESPN, citing both his current situation at the network and the people he has met there, as well as ESPN’s broad reach in the sports media landscape.
“I still believe that ESPN is the king of the kings,” Orlovsky said. “It’s the king of the castle. I was in Nashville a couple weeks ago. I’m in the bars in Nashville and ESPN is on every television, so that still has value to me. We’re just coming off ‘NFL Live’ winning an Emmy. I didn’t necessarily want to leave that... I have unfinished business at ESPN. While I feel like I’ve been there six or seven years, I’m just getting started at ESPN. There were a lot of different reasons, but they all led me to ESPN.”
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Chris Franklin may be reached at cfranklin@njadvancemedia.com.
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