''Sunday NFL Countdown'' (officially ''Sunday NFL Countdown presented by

Snickers Snickers is a chocolate bar made by the American company Mars, Incorporated, consisting of nougat topped with caramel and peanuts that is encased in milk chocolate. The annual global sales of Snickers was over $3 billion . In the United Ki ...

'') is an American pregame television program that covers the NFL action for that week. The show airs on

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

in the United States and

TSN TSN may refer to: Science and technology * Translin, DNA binding protein involved in microRNA function * Taxonomic serial number, a stable and unique taxonomic serial number issued by the Integrated Taxonomic Information System * The Science Netwo ...

in Canada from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Eastern time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small port ...

every Sunday during the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

regular season.

Format and history

It is very similar to ''

The NFL Today ''The NFL Today'' is an American football television program on CBS that serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the ''NFL on CBS'' brand. The program features commentary on the latest new ...

'' on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

and ''

Fox NFL Sunday ''Fox NFL Sunday'' is an American sports television program broadcast on the Fox television network. The show debuted on September 4, 1994, and serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the ...

'', which airs on

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

. The show's former names include ''NFL GameDay'' from 1985 to 1995, ''NFL Countdown'' from 1996 to 1997, and since 1998, ''Sunday NFL Countdown'' (to demarcate from the Monday night version of the series). In 2006, the program introduced new graphics and a new logo to resemble the network's ''

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

'' logo.

Chris Berman Christopher James Berman (born May 10, 1955), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for '' SportsCenter'' on ESPN since 1979, joining a month after its initial launch, and hosted the network's '' Sunday NFL Coun ...

was the studio host from 1986–2016, succeeding

Bob Ley Robert A. Ley ( ; born March 16, 1955) is an American sports anchor and reporter, best known for his work at ESPN. A multiple Emmy Award-winner, he was the longest-tenured on-air employee of the network, having joined ESPN just three days after ...

Jack Youngblood Herbert Jackson Youngblood III (born January 26, 1950) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) for fourteen seasons during the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

was the first analyst. In 1987, he was replaced by

Pete Axthelm Pete Axthelm (August 27, 1943 – February 2, 1991) was a sportswriter and columnist for the '' New York Herald Tribune'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ''Newsweek'' and its ''Inside Sports''. During the 1980s, his knowledge of sports and journalistic ...

and Tom Jackson. The show's awards include seven

Sports Emmy Awards The Sports Emmy Awards, or Sports Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Sports ...

for Outstanding Weekly Show (1988, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2003, and 2006 seasons) and five

CableACE Award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Amer ...

s (1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995 seasons). In February 2007, ESPN confirmed an earlier report in the ''

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...

'' that

Michael Irvin Michael Jerome Irvin (born March 5, 1966) is an American sports commentator and former professional football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 2007, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame ...

would not be brought back to the show or to the network. On March 12, ESPN confirmed on its website that

's former teammate,

Emmitt Smith Emmitt James Smith III (born May 15, 1969) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Among other accolades, he is the lea ...

would fill Irvin's chair, but that arrangement only lasted one season.

Keyshawn Johnson Joseph Keyshawn Johnson (born July 22, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. He played college football for the University of Southern Calif ...

also joined the network and has served as an analyst for ''Countdown'', among other programs. On September 7, 2014, which was the 35th anniversary of ESPN's launch, ''Sunday NFL Countdown'' debuted a brand-new studio inside Digital Center 2 of ESPN's main facilities in Bristol. With it, came a new logo and also, a new graphics package similar to that of ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

''. Like ''SportsCenter'', a

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font is used, but with the lower-thirds having white text on a black background, as opposed to black text on a white background. Starting September 8, every NFL show produced at ESPN now shares its new graphics, new logo, and a new set (except ''

Monday Night Countdown ''ESPN Monday Night Countdown'' (officially ''Monday Night Countdown presented by Subway'') is an American pregame television program that is broadcast on ESPN, preceding ''Monday Night Football''. When it debuted in 1993 as ''NFL Prime Monday'' ...

'', which itself shares the same graphics package and theme music as ''Monday Night Football''). On September 13, 2015, ''Sunday NFL Countdown'' was shortened from 3 hours to 2 hours, due to a new Sunday edition of ''

NFL Insiders ''NFL Insiders'' was a National Football League studio show, that aired Monday through Friday at 3:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. The football-themed show replaced ''NFL 32'' on August 5, 2013. The program was one of the only NFL-related studio programs ...

'' being aired in the 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET time slot. Therefore, ''Sunday NFL Countdown'' was moved down an hour to 11 a.m. ET. On September 10, 2017, ''Sunday NFL Countdown'' moved back to the 10 a.m. ET time slot and became a 3-hour program once again, resulting in the cancellation of ''NFL Insiders: Sunday Edition'' after 2 seasons. The show usually originates from Bristol, but it originates in the city hosting the

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

for its Super Bowl edition. On November 20, 2016, the show originated from

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, which was hosting the ''Monday Night Football'' game the following night between the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

and

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. In January 2017, ESPN announced that Berman would leave the show at the end of the 2016-17 season, ending his 31-year tenure as host of this program. Berman was replaced with

Samantha Ponder Samantha Ponder (née Steele; born December 11, 1985) is an American sportscaster who is the host of ''Sunday NFL Countdown'' on ESPN. Prior to hosting Sunday NFL Countdown, Ponder worked as a reporter/host for ESPN college football and as a ba ...

, who had previously co-hosted and contributed to '' College GameDay'' from 2012–2016. On September 13, 2020, ''Sunday NFL Countdown'' moved from Bristol to the network's

South Street Seaport The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, centered where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District, in Lower Manhattan. The Seaport is a designated historic district, ...

studios in New York City. Its sister Monday night show followed the next day. Both ''Sunday NFL Countdown'' & ''Monday Night Countdown'' now share the same studio with another ESPN show, '' First Take''.

Controversy

On July 14, 2003,

announced that

Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...

would be joining the show as a weekly commentator when it premiered on September 7. Limbaugh would provide the "voice of the fan" and was supposed to spark debate on the show. On September 28, Limbaugh commented about

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for thirteen seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. Before his NFL career, he played football and b ...

, the quarterback of the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

: :"Sorry to say this, I don't think he's been that good from the get-go. I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team." On October 1, 2003, less than one week after that comment, Limbaugh resigned from

. The following Sunday on air Tom Jackson said about Limbaugh: : "Let me just say that it was not our decision to have Rush Limbaugh on this show. I've seen replay after replay of Limbaugh's comments with my face attached as well as that of my colleagues, comments which made us very uncomfortable at the time, although the depth and the insensitive nature of which weren't fully felt until it seemed too late to reply. He was brought here to talk football, and he broke that trust. Rush told us the social commentary for which he is so well known would not cross over to our show, and instead, he would represent the viewpoint of the intelligent, passionate fan. Rush Limbaugh was not a fit for ''NFL Countdown.''"

Personalities

Current

Main Panelists

: (Host, 2017–present) *

Matt Hasselbeck Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College and was drafted in the sixth round ...

: (Analyst, 2016–present) *

Tedy Bruschi Tedy Lacap Bruschi (; born June 9, 1973) is a former professional American football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, who currently serves as the senior advisor to the head coach at University of A ...

: (Analyst 2019–present) *

Randy Moss Randy Gene Moss (born February 13, 1977) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee ...

: (Analyst, 2016–present) *

Rex Ryan Rex Ashley Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American former football coach and analyst. Ryan was formerly the head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL), and also held various coaching position ...

: (Analyst, 2017–present)

Field Reporters

* Jeff Darlington: (Correspondent, 2016–present) *Dan Graziano: (Correspondent, 2017–present) *Kimberley A. Martin: (Correspondent, 2020–present) *

Sal Paolantonio Sal Paolantonio is a Philadelphia-based bureau reporter for ESPN. Since joining ESPN in 1995, Paolantonio has become a staple in their NFL coverage, as he contributes to shows such as ''SportsCenter'', ''NFL Live'', '' Sunday NFL Countdown'' (f ...

: (Correspondent, 1995–present) *

Dianna Russini Dianna Marie Russini (born February 11, 1983) is an American sports journalist who currently works as an NFL host, reporter, insider, and analyst for ESPN on NFL Countdown and ''NFL Live''. Russini joined ESPN and became a '' SportsCenter'' anc ...

: (Correspondent, 2017–present) *

Ed Werder Ed Werder (born May 3, 1960 in Longmont, Colorado) is an American sports reporter. He is the Dallas-based bureau reporter for ESPN, Werder is a reporter for the network's NFL coverage, and contributes to shows such as ''SportsCenter'', ''NFL Li ...

: (correspondent, 1998–2016; 2019–present)

NFL Insiders

Adam Schefter Adam Schefter (born December 21, 1966) is an American sports writer and television analyst. After graduating from University of Michigan and Northwestern University with degrees in journalism, Schefter wrote for several newspapers, including ''T ...

: (2009–present) *

Chris Mortensen Chris Mortensen (born November 7, 1951) is an American journalist providing reports for ESPN's '' Sunday NFL Countdown'', ''Monday Night Countdown'', ''SportsCenter'', ESPN Radio, and ESPN.com. Early life Mortensen attended North Torrance Hi ...

: (1991–present) *

Louis Riddick Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

: (2017–present)

Comedy/Impressions

Frank Caliendo Frank Caliendo Jr. (born January 19, 1974) is an American comedian, actor and impressionist, best known for his impersonations on the Fox Network television series ''MADtv'', and as the in-house prognosticator for ''Fox NFL Sunday''. In 2007 ...

: (2012–present)

Former

*Josina Anderson: (Correspondent, 2011–2019) *

: (analyst, 1987–1990) *

: (studio host, 1986–2016) *

Cris Carter Graduel Christopher Darin Carter (born November 25, 1965) is an American former American football, football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles (1987–1989), the Minnesota Vikings (1990� ...

: (analyst, 2008–2015) *

Trent Dilfer Trent Farris Dilfer (born March 13, 1972) is a former American football quarterback and analyst who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He is best known as the starting quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens during their Su ...

: (analyst, 2016) *

Mike Ditka Michael Keller Ditka (born Michael Dyczko; October 18, 1939) is an American former football player, coach, and television commentator. A member of both the College (1986) and the Pro (1988) Football Halls of Fame, he was UPI NFL Rookie of Year i ...

: (analyst, 2006–2015) *

Josh Elliott Josh Elliott is an American television journalist who most recently worked for CBS News. He has previously worked as the news anchor for ABC's ''Good Morning America'', a sports anchor for NBC Sports and ''Today'', and was a co-anchor for the l ...

: (correspondent, 2006–2010) *Greg Garber: (correspondent, 1991–2017) *

Merril Hoge Merril DuAine Hoge (; born January 26, 1965) is a former professional American football player. He played eight seasons at running back for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears, retiring after the 1994 season. Since 1996 he had been a ...

: (analyst, 2012–2014) *

: (analyst, 2003–2006) * Tom Jackson: (analyst, 1987–2015) *

Ron Jaworski Partner owner , highlights= * Pro Bowl (1980) * Bert Bell Award (1980) * Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame ;NFL record * Longest touchdown pass: 99 yards (tied) , statlabel1= TD– INT , statvalue1=179–164 , statlabel2=Yards , statvalue2=28,19 ...

: (contributor, 1990–2005) (analyst, 2006; 2012–2014) *

(analyst, 2007–2015) *

Jim Kelly James Edward Kelly (born February 14, 1960) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons with the Buffalo Bills. He also spent two seasons with the Houston Gamblers of the United State ...

: (analyst, 1998–2000) *

Andrea Kremer Andrea Kremer (born February 25, 1959) is a multi-Emmy Award-winning American television sports journalist. She currently calls ''Thursday Night Football'' games for Amazon Prime Video making sports history, along with Hannah Storm, by becoming ...

: (contributor, 1989–2005) *

Ray Lewis Raymond Anthony Lewis Jr. (born May 15, 1975) is an American former professional American football, football player who played as a Linebacker#Middle linebacker, middle linebacker with the Baltimore Ravens for his entire 17-year career in th ...

: (analyst, 2013–2015) *

: (studio host, 1985) *

: (analyst, 2003) *

Kenny Mayne Kenny Mayne (born ) is an American sports media personality who is best known for his work on ESPN from 1994 to 2021. He appeared as host of ''Kenny Mayne's Wider World of Sports'' on ESPN.com, and he appeared as a weekly contributor to ''Sund ...

: (contributor, 2005–2012) *

Wendi Nix Wendi Nix (born September 17, 1974) is an American anchor and sports reporter for ESPN. Professional Nix is the former co-host of ESPN's number one program, ''NFL Live''. Nix primarily handles coverage for NFL and college football games featurin ...

: (co-host, 2014–2016) *

Pam Oliver Pam Oliver (born ) is an American sportscaster known for her work on the sidelines for various National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Football League (NFL) games. Early life and education Oliver was born in Dallas, Texas. She att ...

: (reporter, 1993–1994) *

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 ...

: (contributor, 2007) *

Phil Simms Phillip Martin Simms (born November 3, 1955) is an American former football quarterback who spent his entire 15-year professional career playing for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He is currently a television sport ...

: (analyst, 1994) *

Stuart Scott Stuart Orlando Scott (July 19, 1965 – January 4, 2015) was an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and anchor on ESPN, most notably on ''SportsCenter''. Well known for his hip-hop style and use of catchphrases, Scott was also a regular ...

: (co-host, 1999–2000) *

Sterling Sharpe Sterling Sharpe (born April 6, 1965) is a former American football wide receiver and analyst for the NFL Network. He attended the University of South Carolina, and played from 1988 to 1994 with the Green Bay Packers in a career shortened by a ...

: (analyst, 1995–2003) *

: (analyst, 2007) *

Joe Theismann Joseph Robert Theismann (born September 9, 1949) is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, corporate speaker and restaurateur. He rose to fame playing quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian ...

: (analyst, 1988–1997) *Jim Trotter: (Correspondent, 2014–2017) *

Mike Tirico Mike Tirico (; born December 13, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He is currently the NFL play-by-play announcer on NBC's '' Sunday Night Football'', having replaced Al Michaels in 2022. From 2006 to 2015, Tirico served as a play-by-play an ...

: (co-host, 1998) *

Charles Woodson Charles Cameron Woodson (born October 7, 1976) is a former American football defensive back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Oakland Raiders and Green Bay Packers. He played college football at Mic ...

: (analyst, 2016–2018) *

Steve Young Jon Steven Young (born October 11, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He also played for the Tampa Bay Buccane ...

: (analyst, 2000–2005) (contributor, 2006–2009) *

: (analyst, 1985–1986)

References

Press Release: ESPN'S 2006 NFL LINEUP SURROUNDS MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL WITH 188 YEARS OF GRIDIRON EXPERIENCE

External links

ESPN.tv show page
{{Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Studio Show 1990s American television series 2000s American television series 2010s American television series 2020s American television series ESPN original programming American sports television series 1985 American television series debuts National Football League pregame television series