Recently, I had a conversation with a friend who is a programmer in a major market. We were talking about former players that transition into broadcasting, particularly into sports radio.
He said that the reason the overwhelming majority of former players and coaches on air come from football, as opposed to any other sport, is because that is what most people want to know the most about. The value of their knowledge and experience is higher than what a basketball coach or baseball player could offer the audience.
I pushed back, not on that being the reason that football seems to breed the most future broadcasters, but on the idea that their value comes from their knowledge. That kind of thinking is the bedrock of so many forgettable, easily replaceable shows.
Last month, we learned that Tom Brady and FOX had reached a deal that will see the Buccaneers quarterback walk right into the network’s top NFL booth at the end of his playing career. It was a major investment by FOX, which will reportedly shell out $37.5 million per year for a decade.
Almost immediately, the reaction was “What about Drew Brees? Did TV not learn anything from making huge investments in players before they have even been in front of a camera?”.
I have way more faith in Brady and it is for the same reason that I push back on knowledge being what makes an ex-player or coach valuable.
The GOAT may not be the most interesting guy in the world, but we have seen him unafraid to have fun or to be the butt of a joke. We’ve seen him hold an audience’s attention when speaking candidly. It doesn’t happen all the time, but we have seen it!
The only time Drew Brees opened his mouth before joining NBC was to sell Wal-Mart blue jeans or pyramid scheme vitamins.
A bet on Brady is a network seeing building blocks that can be developed into something worthwhile. A bet on Brees was just dumb.
Whether it is TV or radio, our goal in broadcasting is to entertain the audience. John Skipper recently called Charles Barkley the most valuable asset any network in the sports business has.
Why is that true?
There are better X and O analysts of basketball, but no one combines knowledge, fearlessness, and an ability to entertain the way Charles Barkley does. Honestly, he is closer to Stephen A. Smith than any former player on TV. The first-hand knowledge of the game that he can offer is just a bonus.
That is what programmers would benefit from understanding. An athlete or coach turned broadcaster isn’t special because they played the game. They aren’t special for winning at a high level.
The guys that had careers like that before they entered the broadcasting world are lucky. That level of achievement is something many of their peers would kill for. Hell, it is the reason that in some cases, these guys have no peers.
Drew Brees was a five-time all-pro, two-time offensive player of the year, and a Super Bowl Champion. Joe Montana was the league MVP twice and the MVP of three Super Bowls. They both sucked on TV because, at the end of the day, all that matters is how you communicate.
Staffing your station or network with a few former players and coaches does add some credibility. That credibility diminishes though if they have nothing valuable to say.
When we are looking to add those kinds of talents to our stations, we have to look deeper than “can this guy speak clearly?” and “does the audience remember him on the field?”.
Here’s what I want to know when I think about former players and coaches for broadcast positions:
IS THIS PERSON ENTERTAINING?
Do they have charisma? Do they know how to tell a story? How is their comedic timing? Are they comfortable being the punchline?
Honestly, if you don’t get the answer you want to even one of these questions, it is worth asking yourself if you can do better. Sports radio isn’t a university lecture hall. It’s a theater and the performers’ only job is to entertain the audience.
IS THE GUY WILLING TO BE CRITICAL?
I know I am in the minority on Jon Gruden as an analyst, but I thought he always stopped just short of saying anything meaningful while he was the analyst for Monday Night Football. He didn’t want to shut the door on any potential future employment.
Before you agree to pay a guy for talking into the microphone, make sure he has something to say and is willing to say it. He doesn’t have to betray anyone’s confidence, but if he sees a problem on the field, he needs to be willing to say so.
DOES HE DESPISE PEOPLE THAT DIDN’T PLAY THE GAME?
The phrase “if you’ve never had your hand in the dirt” is the dumbest thing any ex-jock can say on radio or television. Imagine being a pediatrician and hating kids. That is no different than a broadcaster, no matter his background, telling his audience he doesn’t want to have a conversation with them.
If you cannot articulate your point in a way someone without your life experience will understand, then you don’t deserve a paycheck for communicating. If you want to do this job and do it well, you have to accept that your loyalty to the locker room is over and your loyalty now is to the audience.
CAN HE MOVE ON FROM THE PAST?
Again, this isn’t a classroom and no one is here for a history lesson. If the guy is good at using his own time on the field or court to explain current players and/or situations, okay. If all he has to offer is story time, then he has nothing to offer.
Plenty of former players and coaches have gone on to be great broadcasters. On radio, does it get much better right now than Pat McAfee? On the local level there’s Dan Dakich in Indianapolis, Brad Thompson in St. Louis, T-Bob Hebert in Baton Rouge, Tom Tolbert in San Francisco, Petros Papadakis in LA and so many more. On TV there is Paul Bissonnette for hockey, Randy Moss for football, Jay Bilas for college basketball, and the entire Inside the NBA crew just to name a few.
Every single one of those guys would still be tremendously entertaining and a valuable addition to any station or network even if they had never played or coached. Why? Because we are in the entertainment business and they can all know how to entertain.
I’ll take that over knowledge as the foundation for a show any day of the week. If it comes with some insight, awesome, but first hand experience is the sizzle, not the steak.
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.
You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
