In July of 2016, Kyle Brandt was living in Southern California ending a nine-year run as executive producer of The Jim Rome Show. A couple of weeks later, he was on camera in New York City as one of the hosts the NFL Network’s new morning show.
On August 1st, 2016, Good Morning Football premiered and six years later, the show is still going strong.
And earlier this month, Brandt was rewarded with a new long-term contract with NFL Media.
“I’m thrilled, flattered, honored, and excited,” said Brandt. “I’m very proud of what I’ve done there and extremely honored to be rewarded for it. I say the same thing when an NFL player signs a big contract extension. Contracts are not rewards for what you’ve done. They’re investments for what you’re going to do and I look at it that way as well.”
The weekday edition of Good Morning Football, hosted by Brandt, Jamie Erdahl, Jason McCourty and Peter Schrager, airs Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM-10:00 AM Eastern and has been a huge hit for football fans to get their day started with a mix of football and fun. After previous morning shows NFL AM and NFL HQ, the NFL Network went in a different direction with GMFB and it’s certainly paid off.
Especially for Brandt.
“The origin story is absurd,” said Brandt. “Marvel would not believe this story. They took a shot on us…a really risky one and the show could have went into the side of a mountain in two weeks. And now we’ve done it for over six years and it’s like the small little company that we built within the massive NFL thing. I’m so proud of it. It’s a place where you come in and you have complete creative freedom to say anything you want about anything in the NFL and that’s so rare.”
A native of the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale, Illinois, Brandt was a running back for Princeton University and then embarked on a career in broadcasting and entertainment. In addition to his sports experience over the years, Brandt has appeared on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives while also starting on the MTV reality show The Real World: Chicago.
From an on-air sports broadcasting perspective, Brandt cut his teeth during his time with Jim Rome.
The experience he attained in “The Jungle” was, as Brandt pointed out during our phone conversation, “massive”.
“It was like being a coach for nine years and then starting your playing career,” said Brandt. “It was being a world-class director for years and then being like you know what I think I’m going to become an actor. It was like going through a nine-year master class before taking the stage.”
Brandt learned a lot about the business of sports broadcasting over those nine years working on the Rome show. There were two things specifically that resonated with Brandt that he continues to follow to this day and they are both a big reason for his success.
“Work ethic and preparation,” Brandt said of Rome. “When I would work with Jim, he was easily at the part of his career that he could have started mailing things in. Why not? He was successful. You’re a made guy. You’re a hall of famer. I was always so impressed with it. I’m a prepare freak…almost obsessive neurotic preparer for something I could definitely wing…definitely and I just won’t do it.”
GMFB has carved out a niche among football fans because it’s unlike other sports television shows. While there has to be an “x’s and o’s” element when you’re doing a football show or any show in sports, what made Brandt and company successful for this long has been the ability to simply have fun in the mornings.
Yes, it’s a football show on a football network, but it’s also a morning show and that brings about a commitment to entertain the viewers.
“I see other shows sometimes,” said Brandt. “I watch and it doesn’t seem like the people on the show even like sports. They’re so mad about everything. You can’t wake up at 7:00 AM, pour your coffee, turn on the TV, and there’s someone with a furrowed brow screaming at someone across the table. There’s a place for that TV…I just don’t think it’s first thing in the morning. We get crazy sometimes and we get ridiculous sometimes. I will go to my grave saying sports are still fun.”
This season, there was a big change at GMFB for season seven and that was the exodus of original host Kay Adams after being part of the show for six years. Adams was replaced by former NFL on CBS sideline reporter Jamie Erdahl who will continue to have select assignments for CBS Sports.
Maybe change wasn’t the right word when it comes to GMFB. It’s more like a seamless transition.
“People ask what’s the change like and I just say easy,” said Brandt. “Kay has a huge footprint on this show and is one of the founding members who started this with us. Jamie is a tenured, pedigreed sports media journalist who comes in prepared early and ready with thoughts and questions, production ideas, and with editorial suggestions every single day. We didn’t know what it was going to be like because we’ve never been through this before. It’s just been so easy and such a pleasure to have Jamie.”
GMFB is just one part of Brandt’s new deal with NFL Media.
In addition to remaining with the morning show, Brandt will also be making appearances on the NFL’s digital and social content while also developing new content ideas for NFL Media.
“I’m thrilled and it’s the same thing I would say about Good Morning Football,” said Brandt. “They hand us this pallet and they say paint what you want. Creativity. What is in your head this morning about the Bengals? Go ahead and paint it. Whatever you want to do. They said do anything you want in the media group. Come up with ideas. Paint your pictures. If you want to develop something, great.”
In addition to his NFL Media duties, Brandt signed a deal back in August with Omaha Productions for content on ESPN+. The new show Kyle Brandt’s Basement debuted on August 8th and features guest interviews and discussion of the ins and outs of the NFL.
Brandt and Omaha were initially connected when he auditioned last summer to do the ManningCast of ESPN’s Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli Manning.
There was an initial thought of having a third voice as part of the show.
“It went really well,” said Brandt. “It was the craziest acid trip moment of my career to be in a Zoom with Peyton and Eli watching a Ravens/Browns game talking football. They were so good and they didn’t need a third host no matter who it was. They said thanks for doing it but let’s look for something down the road.”
Well, down the road, Brandt would eventually receive a phone call from a private number in the Denver area code. Brandt answered the phone and said “hello”.
And then Brandt heard…“Kyle it’s Peyton Manning,” said Brandt as he recalled the phone call.
“It’s so bizarre but they’ve been so supportive. They came back to me and said we want to be in business with you and we think you should do this show that we have in mind and we’re going to do it in your basement.”
Kyle Brandt is a busy man these days. From producer/coach to on-air personality/player, Brandt’s career in sports continues to skyrocket.
Peter Schwartz writes weekly sports radio features for Barrett Media. He has been involved in New York sports media for over three decades, and has worked for notable brands such as WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, WCBS 880, ESPN New York, and FOX News Radio. Peter has also served as play by play announcer for the New Yok Riptide, New York Dragons, New York Hitmen, Varsity Media and the Long Island Sports Network. You can find him on Twitter @SchwartzSports or email him at DragonsRadio@aol.com.
