When Laura Rutledge looks back at the early days of the revamped NFL Live, she recognizes how she occupied a cavernous studio alone while everyone else was in remote locations carrying out their roles. In trying to adhere to health and safety protocols due to the global pandemic, the network had made adaptations to many of its studio shows. Although everyone involved was excited for the new show, the external situations surrounding the endeavor placed it in a unique situation compared to the launch of other studio programming.
“I remember very early on being discouraged and feeling like we weren’t really given a fair shake, and it was basically out of everybody’s control,” Rutledge said. “There was nothing anyone could do about it, and so instead of wallowing in that, I decided, ‘Okay, we’re not going to use that as an excuse. We’re going to find some way to make this really work.’”
Rutledge had faced different levels of adversity in establishing herself and working in sports media. At this stage in her career though, she is largely recognized as one of ESPN’s versatile, star talents. Aside from her natural hosting abilities, she has exhibited unyielding poise and a commitment to enhancing her colleagues. Every weekday, Rutledge is joined by ESPN NFL analysts Dan Orlovsky, Mina Kimes, Marcus Spears and Ryan Clark on NFL Live, a show that genuinely blends congeniality with proficiency pertaining to a predominant sport.
“I know some people are like, ‘Wow, is it really this good? Do you guys really like each other this much,’ and I would just tell you it’s just family,” Rutledge said. “We’ve been there for each other through a lot over these last few years, and so I think that’s very rare to find in TV in general, but I desperately hold on to the chemistry that we’ve created because I know that it’s something rare and special.”
Rutledge left her ego behind at the entrance to the long and winding road towards Bristol, Conn., and she has worked to build off each opportunity placed in her direction. Viewing chances to broaden her skillset as stepping stones instead of obstacles, she prepares to cross these rivers with a confident composure. As time has progressed, Rutledge has improved her ability to construct bridges that put her in the fast lane of success.
The airport is a common destination on some of these drives since she frequently travels throughout the football season to host and report on various network programs. Before she was a passenger on an airplane preparing for takeoff, Rutledge was on the runway herself competing in beauty pageants. As a longtime member of the Miss America organization, Rutledge sought to win scholarship money while in college at the University of Florida. While she eventually won the title of Miss Florida in the summer of 2012, the process helped her refine key fundamentals in her sports media pursuits.
“I really didn’t know how to be in front of a camera and I would deal with debilitating nerves trying to do that, so this forced me so outside my comfort zone that I had to learn pretty quickly how to make it all work,” Rutledge said. “I think if you can be on a stage in front of people, being on a camera isn’t nearly as bad.”
From a young age, Rutledge possessed a keen interest in the arts and ballet dancing, and although she enjoyed sports, she did not closely scrutinize teams and leagues. Upon matriculating at the University of Florida, she was using some of her academic scholarship funds to pay for ballet classes and needed to find a job to help alleviate some of the costs. A friend subsequently told her she had a good voice and should consider joining WRUF, the campus radio station. In the spring of her freshman year, Rutledge applied and was informed sports was the only opening, and she did not hesitate to oblige.
In order to learn about what she was covering, Rutledge engaged in deft preparation and displayed a steadfast yearning to excel. As she focused her major on telecommunications and news, she discerned the widespread passion for college sports and made her voice heard. Outside of her own work, she watched and drew inspiration from ESPN television personalities such as Mike Greenberg, Paul Finebaum and Scott Van Pelt. Rutledge, however, thought she was going to work in radio but was open to any chance to assimilate into the industry.
After relentless attempts to land an internship, she began working with FOX Sports Florida in her senior year and primarily copied DVDs over the summer. Despite crossing through an open doorway, Rutledge felt discouraged and that the role was somewhat a waste of time.
From her propensity to take action, she approached management and asked if she could write positional previews for Florida and Florida State football. Even without a guarantee that they would be published, she set out on the project and looked to imbue the website with fresh, relevant content. In the end, every single article was posted, and the gamble parlayed itself into a position as a sideline reporter for the Tampa Bay Rays while still in school, catalyzing her career in television.
“One of the great things about a baseball season and being a regional reporter is that if you have a bad game, you can come back out the next day and do it again,” Rutledge explained. “I felt that bounce-back opportunity for me after many bad games and many times when I would think, ‘Oh my goodness – I can’t even have any success at this,’ that was really beneficial.”
Rutledge eventually relocated to the FOX Sports-branded regional sports network in San Diego, which later became Bally Sports San Diego. While there, she further bolstered her portfolio by reporting on San Diego Padres games and serving as a fill-in host in the studio. Even so, she had an inclination to do more and pitched a new show, SDLive, on which she would produce, write and host.
“I look back and I’m like, ‘Oh man, I could have done that so much better now,’ but at the time for being as young as I was in the business but also really passionate about trying to grow the producer side of my brain, it was great experience and I loved it,” Rutledge said. “I was very sad to leave San Diego; the only thing that pulled me away was the opportunity with ESPN.”
Several weeks before the college football season, Rutledge interviewed with ESPN at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and had a willingness to do anything to land an opportunity. She was subsequently added to the talent roster ahead of the debut of the SEC Network and quickly began reporting on football, gymnastics, softball and college baseball games. From the onset, Rutledge aimed to adequately perform her roles and serve as an asset rather than a liability in the grand scheme of coverage.
“I learned a lot, I think, in those early days, but I think the keys to getting more opportunities at ESPN was showing that I didn’t care what it was going to be that they were going to ask me to do,” Rutledge said. “I was going to find a way to do it and hopefully perform at a high and acceptable level.”
When Rutledge was named the host of SEC Nation in 2017, she sought to find a way to bring the feel of a college atmosphere to viewers at home. The show broadcasts live at gameday on select college campuses throughout the season with analysts Jordan Rodgers, Roman Harper, Tim Tebow and Paul Finebaum. College football reporters Marty Smith and Ryan McGee also contribute to the program, which informs viewers through entertainment and keeps them coming back each week.
“It is this mix of these really interesting, fun personalities who are very football-minded and very smart,” Rutledge said, “and so that’s a show I’m incredibly proud of and I really, really look forward to doing every single week during college football season.”
Rutledge continues to balance her hosting commitments on both SEC Nation and NFL Live and travels for both programs throughout the year. Regardless of the show, she looks to remain out of the way and elevate the people around her so they can flourish. Although she is in front of the camera, Rutledge looks to remain somewhat in the background to cultivate memorable moments. She truly seeks to be a team player, placing her colleagues before herself and doing things in the best interest of the show.
“They don’t need to remember what I said because I’m there to make them shine, and that will be what I hope people would say about me,” Rutledge said. “I hope that’s what my coworkers would say about me because that’s my ultimate goal.”
From watching other sports programming, Rutledge feels that conversation sometimes becomes too serious in a medium implementing entertainment value. Whenever she is working, Rutledge tries to remember people who have bad things happening in their lives and simply yearn for a reprieve.
“At this point, I’ve done so many embarrassing things on TV and had so many weird moments that there’s nothing that I’m really that afraid of because I will always just be who I am,” Rutledge said. “It took a long time for me to get there, but in life I’m sort of goofy and I love a blooper and I just love to laugh and have fun.”
While NFL Live utilizes analytics and other esoteric concepts of the game, it also confers on other topics others may perceive as trivial. There are disagreements at times, but the show largely eschews from contentiousness and retains a level of comfortability and education within its segments. Everyone on the show has respect for one another and is cognizant of the importance of actively listening rather than steady interruption. Contrarily though, there are times where entropy has etched the show into the minds of viewers, but it is always with the backing of strong trust across the panel.
“We know that of course we understand the football that we’re talking, and we love to inform; we love to be at a high level X-and-O wise,” Rutledge outlined, “but I think the most memorable moments from the show have been things that have been completely spontaneous and unplanned.”
Cast members of the program and production staff take part in a daily meeting prior to the show to discuss topics for the show. Throughout the week, the analysts on the program reveal what they are interested in bringing to light and maintain a consistent dialogue. Since the show is daily rather than weekly, it has the flexibility to move segments or discussion points in order to react to the dynamic news cycle in real time. ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter famously broke news of quarterback Aaron Rodgers being traded to the New York Jets during an edition of the program, allowing viewers to experience their reactions in real time.
“Our staff gets to weigh in on what they’d be interested in,” Rutledge said. “That’s always interesting because it gives us a nice barometer to see what fans – people who aren’t analysts but do work on the show – what [they would] care about. We really take that seriously, and then we talk to the analysts throughout the day – the people who are going to be on the show – [and] they sort of tell us, ‘Hey, I saw this,’ or, ‘I’m interested in that,’ and then we kind of sort through it and we’ll have a lot of conversations.”
Although there is some overlap in the preparation process for sideline reporting, Rutledge has had to make alterations in order to balance all of her responsibilities. She frequently feels fatigued but reminds herself of how lucky she is to be in her position. As a result, there are times where she has to sacrifice the amount of detail to complete the essential tasks prior to a contest.
During this past NFL regular season, Rutledge was the sideline reporter for Monday Night Football games in the three weeks ESPN presented doubleheaders. Additionally, she was on the broadcast for the network’s first ever NFL divisional round playoff game in addition to its Wild Card weekend game the week prior.
“I think one of the things that’s helped me a lot is finding ways to prepare where I really just focus in on whatever that sport is in a short time period and knowing that my brain can handle that and just cramming it all in and then moving to the next thing,” Rutledge articulated, “and then when I’m done with it, I kind of flush a lot out and then I hope there’s something left in case I had to go back to that team or that sport or that show or whatever it may be, and I found some success that way.”
Retaining credibility and being well-versed in the subject matter helps Rutledge suppress the surrounding criticism and misogyny to which she has been subjected. Every time she is on the air, she looks to remain consistent in her craft and serve as a role model for aspiring professionals. There were moments where she would let commentary affect her, but she has been able to effectively tune it out and not allow them to linger in her headspace.
“I think for me, I’ve always tried to live in a world where I don’t use that as an excuse,” Rutledge said. “While there may be people who would say ugly things or people who would treat people differently, I’ve tried to find ways to just move past that, and it’s not always possible, and so I’m very sensitive to people who have had examples where that hasn’t been the case for them.”
When Rutledge was seeking to ascend in the industry, she did not feel there was much assistance in finding the road forward. Whereas she used to be focused on her performances to define her level of success, she has broadened her scope and augmented the output as a whole. Rutledge believes there are chances for everyone, and she wants to assist others in knowing where to look and getting started.
“I think for me, that’s going to continue to be my priority no matter how long they’ll have me doing this,” Rutledge said. “At some point, I won’t be doing this anymore and I’ll be old news, and that’s great because that means it’s time for somebody else to take over.”
Rutledge is currently in the final year of her existing contract at ESPN, which is set to expire this summer, and she has interest in remaining at the network. At the same time though, she is receptive to other opportunities to cover the best events and continue performing a variety of different roles. Regardless of where she is next football season, she aspires to continue sideline reporting and experiencing moments of pure exhilaration.
“To be holding a microphone on Monday Night Football with people that I respect so much who are on those broadcast teams and the crew that does such an amazing job is beyond a dream come true,” Rutledge said. “It’s something that never in a million years I would have imagined, so I think just the more the better, and I would be thankful for anything that comes my way.”
Despite having hosted and reported on several games during her years in the business, Rutledge feels a nervous excitement ahead of each broadcast. There is undoubtedly a commitment to her performance, but it comes with a greater perspective of bolstering the aggregate product. In a time of mass layoffs throughout the media industry replete with dissemination platforms, it is clear to Rutledge that the industry is changing.
“I think it’s just extremely important that we never lose sight of what our ultimate goal is, which is to serve sports fans anytime, anywhere,” Rutledge said. “At times you see things that sort of looks like maybe we’ve fallen away from that, and that’s true for any business in any company, and just making sure that we’re always keeping our eyes squarely on that focus I think will allow for a ton of success for everybody at ESPN moving forward.”
Rutledge always has a strong sense of gratitude and considers herself fortunate to keep a packed schedule. Between SEC Nation, NFL Live and reporting assignments, along with being present for her family, moments of respite are few and far between.
In the moments where they do occur though, she thinks about the people who have and continue to support her on the journey. Instead of tracking a bonafide rise per se, she keeps her eyes focused on the road and free of distractions continuing forward towards an unknown final stop.
“I’ve worked so hard to earn every single thing and to earn it through credibility and professionalism,” Rutledge said. “And so to me, nothing that comes my way is worth doing unless that’s how I’ve earned it, so I hope that continues. Maybe one day I’ll stop and smell some roses, but for the meantime I’m just going to keep on trucking as long as they’ll let me.”
Derek Futterman is a contributing editor and sports media reporter for Barrett Media. Additionally, he has worked in a broad array of roles in multimedia production – including on live game broadcasts and audiovisual platforms – and in digital content development and management. He previously interned for Paramount within Showtime Networks, wrote for the Long Island Herald and served as lead sports producer at NY2C. To get in touch, find him on X @derekfutterman.
