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🎤 QUICK START ✍️

🏈 Amazon’s Kaylee Hartung will join NBC for their Super Bowl LX broadcast as a second sideline reporter while also having Olympic duties in February.

🏈 ESPN executives quickly jumped to Pat McAfee’s defense (as they always seem to do) following The Athletic’s annual college football survey, seeing his popularity wane.

🎥 Fanatics is getting into the content business, launching a production company that will partner with ESPN, Tom Brady, and the Los Angeles Olympic,s among others.

🎙️ Netflix was turned down by All the Smoke in their attempt to continue building their sports podcast empire.

🚨 LEADING OFF 🚨

5 TV destinations that make the most sense for Mike Tomlin

After weeks of speculation, Mike Tomlin is finally available for TV networks.

The longtime Pittsburgh Steelers head coach parted ways with the franchise he led to a Super Bowl title and had served for 19 seasons. Tomlin’s teams struggled in the playoffs in recent years. He now owns the albatross of being tied with Marvin Lewis for the most consecutive playoff losses in NFL history. But there’s no doubting his pedigree, in coaching or as a possible NFL analyst on television.

For years, Tomlin has been touted as one of the top figures in football who could make the jump to television at any time. Now that he is free (and with the Steelers still holding his rights next season), an entry into the sports media industry seems inevitable.

Given his name recognition, dynamism, and potential, all the networks will be itching to add Mike Tomlin to their rosters. Fox may already be labeled as the “favorite” but are they really the best place for Tomlin to launch his television career? Which spots are the best for the former Steelers coach where he can make the biggest impact? Let’s examine the possibilities…

5) ESPN studio analyst - ESPN already has a small army of NFL analysts that roam the grounds in Bristol and New York. And since ESPN has already dedicated millions of dollars in high-profile hires like Jason Kelce and the ManningCast, it’s hard to imagine them dishing out the cash once again for Mike Tomlin. In many ways, he would be just another voice amongst many fighting for reps and airtime. But ESPN offers a platform like no other for daily NFL coverage.

4) Amazon game/studio analyst - The pairing of Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit has a lot of star power, but isn’t the most popular amongst fans. Michaels has committed to at least one more season in the broadcast booth, and his contract goes through 2026. It’s conceivable that Amazon would bring an entirely new broadcast booth to the table in 2027 if Michaels and Herbstreit exit as a pair. If so, a bridge year with Tomlin learning the ropes in a three-man booth or working with their acclaimed studio coverage could make sense to further boost the streamer. Amazon is growing in importance as an NFL media partner, and the hiring of Mike Tomlin would be a huge statement of their intent.

3) The NFL Today on CBS - CBS has completely reshaped its studio coverage in recent years. And with J.J. Watt moving to the broadcast booth and now Matt Ryan stepping away, there is a significant hole to fill on their studio show. And what better way to welcome Mike Tomlin into television than by having him sit next to Bill Cowher each and every week. It was always assumed Cowher would someday return to coaching, but he never did. Maybe Mike Tomlin will follow the same career trajectory.

2) CBS game analyst - The recent struggles of Tony Romo have been well documented. And it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a coach hold a top game analyst position. CBS does not have the depth that Fox does on the game analyst side, where Tom Brady, Greg Olsen, and Drew Brees suddenly form a formidable trio at the top. If CBS dared to make a move with Romo, or rework its game analyst roster, bringing Mike Tomlin into the equation could help ease the sting of needing to shake it up. Michael Wilbon has already compared Tomlin's potential impact to John Madden. If that's going to be the case, he needs a top game analyst job to do it. 

1) Football Night in America on NBC - Let’s face facts, NBC is in desperate need of a star NFL analyst. The likes of Jason Garrett, Chris Simms, and Devin McCourty just aren’t on the same level as what the other networks offer. Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison have been around for years, but are now relegated to sharing time with on-site duties. Mike Tomlin would immediately become NBC’s go-to analyst, freshen up its coverage, and give the network a centerpiece to build around. NBC has a great opportunity to pare back and avoid trying to do too much with too many voices, letting Tomlin shine.

📣 SOCIAL EXPERIMENT 🌟

Joe Mazzulla is not helping anyone who wants to defend the sanctity of press conferences as beacons of journalism.

Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti found out about Mike Tomlin’s Steelers departure during his own press conference.

Chris Russo doesn’t see CBS demoting Tony Romo because of what it would mean for Jim Nantz.

Of course, Stephen A. Smith would mistake Houston Texans wide receiver Christian Kirk with slain political activist Charlie Kirk.

📈 DATA DUMP 📊

📺 ESPN is celebrating a huge year for its studio shows, which saw almost all of them record ratings increases.

🏈 NFL Wild Card playoff games unsurprisingly reached multi-year highs with several thrilling games.

🏈 On the flip side, College Football Playoff semifinal viewership was down compared to last year.

📺 FAST TV finds itself in a weird place when it comes to live sports offerings.

️‍️‍🔥 THE CLOSER 🔥

PGA Tour stymies LIV Golf

The war between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf may be reaching its closing stages. That’s not to say that LIV Golf is on the verge of collapse. The Saudi Arabian government has enough money to keep the renegade golf league going until the earth is swallowed up by the sun, as long as it still piques their interest and Yoasir Al-Rumayyan wants an Augusta membership.

However, the return of Brooks Kopeka to the PGA Tour signals the beginning of the end of LIV’s relevance on the global sports scene. If it even had any to begin with.

For years, the two sides have gone back and forth in their seriousness about reuniting professional golf. With Donald Trump back in the White House and having friends on all sides, a LIV-PGA Tour merger looked probable.

But over time, a simple message seems to have emerged from the PGA Tour, especially under Brian Rolapp's leadership.

Thanks, but no thanks.

The PGA Tour rebounded significantly in ratings and interest in the 2025 season. And with new private equity investments and hugely boosted payouts, it now offers top players generational wealth that falls just short of what the Saudis can offer. Scottie Scheffler earned $27 million to lead the money list last year; 26 players earned $5 million, and 136 players earned $1 million.

But in Brooks Koepka’s return, it marks the first player movement case where the PGA Tour has gotten one over on LIV after scores of defections to the other side. Kopeka’s acceptance of the PGA’s unique offer to return (while also making significant revenue sacrifices as part of the cost of reinstatement) brings the PGA Tour a little closer to whole again.

Also, the unique criteria, which offer only a handful of players the chance to join Koepka, show the strength of the PGA Tour’s hand. So far, it doesn’t look like any of the eligible players - Bryson DeChambeau, Cam Smith, Jon Rahm - will follow Kopeka this year. But here’s the harsh truth - the PGA Tour doesn’t really need them.

If anything, the tour’s message to those stars and everyone else on the roster is that their presence isn’t needed for the tour to continue to survive and thrive. If the PGA Tour is able to present a “take it or leave it” stance towards LIV’s top stars, what hopes do the likes of Tyrrell Hatton or Joaquin Niemann have when it comes to their future reinstatement?

More worrying for those golfers is what happens if LIV continues to make little impact and the Saudis suddenly decide not to burn hundreds of millions of dollars on B-level golfers to get a fraction of the PGA Tour’s ratings or success? The last major LIV capture was Jon Rahm, who won two years ago.

LIV Golf is fighting a losing battle. And the only question that remains is how long they want to keep taking the L.