Chris Fowler has inked a multi-year contract extension with ESPN, expanding his role with the network to call five NFL games in addition to working as the lead voice of Saturday Night Football. Moreover, Fowler will continue calling the College Football Playoff National Championship Game coming up on his tenth year on the broadcast and work as the lead voice of the network’s Grand Slam tennis coverage.
Throughout the 2023 NFL regular season, ESPN will present five Monday night doubleheaders starting in Week 2 when the New Orleans Saints visit the Carolina Panthers. Fowler will be joined by Dan Orlovsky, Louis Riddick and Laura Rutledge on the broadcast, which begins at 7:15 p.m. EST on ESPN. This pattern continues in Week 3, 14 and 18, the latter of which will have its matchups and corresponding networks determined at a later date.
During Week 4, Fowler and his commentary partners will call the Atlanta Falcons’ game against the Jacksonville Jaguars from Wembley Stadium in London, England. The matchup will be exclusively on ESPN+ and is part of five international games on the docket throughout the season. Fowler is stepping into the secondary broadcast booth for Steve Levy, who recently reached his 30th year with the network and preceded Buck as the lead voice of Monday Night Football. Levy continues to call play-by-play and lead the outlet’s National Hockey League studio coverage while also anchoring SportsCenter.
In addition to his football roles, Fowler is calling the upcoming U.S. Open Tennis Championships from Flushing, N.Y., which commences on Aug. 28. He was reportedly looking for a raise from the “Worldwide Leader” upon being marked safe from the talent layoffs, according to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
Fowler has worked at ESPN since 1986 when he was a host and reporter for Scholastic Sports America. He has also hosted coverage of the Triple Crown, X Games and FIFA World Cup and anchored on-site coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four. Prior to moving to the broadcast booth, Fowler hosted College GameDay for 24 years, helping establish the program into a sports institution alongside Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit.
The announcement comes following news earlier this week that ESPN senior vice president of production, Lee Fitting, has departed the network. Fitting was responsible for overseeing marquee properties including College GameDay and Monday Night Football, and his exit adds a layer of uncertainty to the future of the network’s football coverage.
