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As NFL Network relaunched Good Morning Football earlier in the summer, the studio backdrop and cast had changed since the hit weekday television program was now airing from Los Angeles. While several cast members relocated from New York City to remain part of the morning show, it was now operating in a new domain amid a continued flourish in the popularity, eminence and prestige of the NFL. Akbar Gbajabiamila, who previously appeared on NFL Network, returned to the entity after a four-year hiatus from sports media. As an accomplished linebacker at San Diego State University and defensive end in the NFL, Gbajabiamila brings insights and perspectives premised from his playing career to the airwaves.
Beginning a second stint with NFL Network was nerve-wracking, and it has taken Gbajabiamila time to become more acclimatized to the venture; however, it was also something for which he had been yearning to resume.
“I remember I used to watch soap operas as a kid – don’t judge me – because my oldest brother and my mother, they watched that stuff and I kind of got into it, but as sports starts to take off for me as a kid, I didn’t have time to watch that,” Gbajabiamila recalled, “but every now and again, I might sit down for a week spell and go, ‘Oh wait, hold on. What happened?’ ‘Oh yeah, this person did that, and this person did that,’ and you’re back in, and that’s where I’m in.”
Although Good Morning Football has yet to reach a decade on air, Gbajabiamila feels that the show is distinct and has developed a legacy. Before starting to work on the program, he spoke with previous cast members, including Nate Burleson and Jason McCourty, to learn more about their experiences and receive advice. Gbajabiamila tries to bring a truthful and energetic disposition sans fabrication, and as his inaugural season on the show continues, he hopes viewers will welcome him to the proverbial breakfast table.
“I don’t want to be the guy who’s speaking over anybody’s head when it comes to football because football is a family thing; it’s a family event,” Gbajabiamila explained. “The way I express and talk about my love for football should be something that is digestible for everyone, and so I want former players to go like, ‘Oh man, you know what? He kept it real. That’s exactly how we think; that’s exactly what we do,’ and I want other people who aren’t in that or haven’t had that perspective to go, ‘Wow, that’s a cool share right there. I didn’t know that.’”
Gbajabiamila works with Peter Schrager, Jamie Erdahl, Kyle Brandt and Sherree Burruss on a daily basis to provide football fans with the latest news, analysis and opinions surrounding all 32 NFL teams, its players and personnel. There can be challenges in being situated on different coasts, but he feels the cadre is not limited by this geographical separation and is able to thrive. Nonetheless, there is tangible pressure on Gbajabiamila to perform, much of which is derived from his own being, and he seeks to implement feedback from show personnel.
“I’m probably my worst critic because I’m always constantly thinking, ‘How can I be better?’” Gbajabiamila said, “but yeah, there’s still a lot more for me to give, and I think that will just kind of grow as I continue to grow with the chemistry of the group because I’m the new guy.”
Gbajabiamila has maintained a packed schedule participating in numerous projects across several television genres. For the last four years, he has co-hosted The Talk on CBS, a daytime show that examines pop culture, lifestyle and news, and the venture has helped him move beyond his comfort zone. Affirming that societal norms have shifted towards placing heightened scrutiny on specific parlance and offering seemingly reduced tolerance of that thereof, Gbajabiamila recognizes that an inherent lack of empathy could result in his being ‘canceled’ should he fail to possess the majority opinion.
“[It is] being able to think quick on your toes and being able to express thoughts and feelings in a quick way, so that was a new muscle for me because in football, you’re giving your opinion on a fact,” Gbajabiamila said. “I’m just giving my opinion on a fact that, ‘Hey, this guy dropped the ball. He’s not good. He dropped the ball because he doesn’t study.’ I’m not going to get in trouble for that.”
Due to the early start time of Good Morning Football, Gbajabiamila hired a sleep coach to assist in developing a healthy, effective daily routine. On a given weekday, he awakens between 1 and 2 a.m. depending on how much studying he has completed. After a car ride to the studio, he participates in production meetings beginning at 3:30 a.m. before taking part in another hour of preparation ahead of showtime. Starting at 5 a.m., Gbajabiamila is in front of the camera for the four-hour program, the first two of which air on NFL Network to a national audience through linear television and direct-to-consumer facilities.
The final two hours of the show, titled GMFB: Overtime, are accessible via streaming on The Roku Channel and syndication on select local stations. As the first sports talk television program to be disseminated like this, the show can connect with an expanse of football fans who consume content through other means of distribution beyond paid television or streaming platforms.
“We’re in more homes, and we’re reaching a different audience that isn’t your normal NFL Network audience,” Gbajabiamila articulated, “and so I think it’s kind of catering to the middle, and when I say ‘the middle,’ meaning you’re talking football, there’s a lot of entertainment references, but the show already has that, and so I think it really kind of helps when we’re bringing in a new audience where it doesn’t feel so X’s and O’s where you say, ‘Oh, I’m going to ‘X’ out.’”
There are instances throughout the year where Gbajabiamila’s day spans beyond five hours on television, testing his resolve and stamina across time zones. Outside of studio shows in sports and entertainment, he has taken part in commentating athletic competitions, including American Ninja Warrior on NBC for the past 13 years. Collaborating with announcer Matt Iseman, the duo calls the action as contestants seek to complete extreme obstacle courses to win the coveted $1 million prize.
“The secret sauce is the storytelling because what I know for sure in television or what I’ve learned in this short career that I’ve had is that people care about the story,” Gbajabiamila said. “The stories make them feel and connect to the athlete, and this is, I think, what makes sports and this bridge kind of come together is that there is this unique perspective of, ‘Hey, how can I relate to this superhuman athlete that can do things that I could never even imagine of doing?,’ and it’s storytelling.”
When the show is not in production, Gbajabiamila usually returns home after The Talk but begins his work during the commute within a mobile office. The setup includes a television, which he usually tunes to the latest sports shows, and he simultaneously reads articles and reviews game footage. Once the rundown for the next morning comes, he reviews its material and ensures he stays nimble should there be developing news. The goal is to be asleep by 6 p.m., but Gbajabiamila usually stays up to spend more time with his family and ends up attaining four-and-a-half hours of rest.
“It’s hard – there’s no way to sugarcoat it,” Gbajabiamila said. “It’s difficult, but I also don’t shy away from things that are difficult.”
Throughout the regular season, Gbajabiamila is watching the Sunday slate of games and the matchups in prime time. There is pressure that accompanies this viewing, especially when teams play simultaneously in the morning and afternoon. Gbajabiamila tunes to NFL RedZone to watch the action preceding Sunday Night Football and takes notes on what he sees while doing his best to process everything. Once the prime time matchup commences, he is able to relax and concentrate while remaining attentive towards defensive alignments, offensive strategy and key in-game decisions.
“It’s like I’d imagine the stress of a stock trader, or at least that’s what I think, on the floor; those old school [traders] on the floor on Wall Street,” Gbajabiamila said. “They’re running around and just trying, and that’s how you feel on Sunday. You’re just moving around trying to keep up with all the different games.”
As Gbajabiamila’s early media work calling college football games phased out, he began to sell artificial turf for Hellas Construction and remarked on having a good run in television. Unsure if he would ever return to sports media, he suddenly received an audition call from NFL Network and subsequently earned a role on NFL Fantasy Live where he gained repetition to prosper in the studio setting. Over the eight years he was in the role, he learned more about how to resonate with football novices and savants alike, a skillset he applies to Good Morning Football while displaying credibility.
“We do have this meritocracy so to speak that isn’t really spoken in sports journalism, sports broadcasting,” Gbajabiamila averred. “‘The more accomplished you are, the harder you can go in on somebody. The less accomplished your playing career was, the less you can,’ and so that’s why I’ve chosen different ways to be able to say [what] I do think because I always want to be authentic. I never want the perception of how I did or what I didn’t do or whatever – I don’t want that to come in or interfere with my ability to give true analysis – but I think there’s always perspective and different angles to look at it.”
Rather than offering criticism of individuals, Gbajabiamila ensures that he levies fair, genuine assessments pertaining to play on the field. Being able to return and display candor, proficiency and verve on Good Morning Football has helped him stand out and withstand the fractionalized media ecosystem permeated with a maelstrom of content competing for attention.
In accordance with his role, Gbajabiamila does not want to jeopardize the aggregate chemistry of the group or its success, and while he would like to realize an immediate boon, he understands establishing comfortability takes time. Within his rookie season, he is taking the lead of the veterans and discerning what has rendered the show a stalwart.
“To me, I’m still far from where I personally want to be, but like anything else, it takes time to gel,” Gbajabiamila said. “As a group, there’s a different dynamic with being on two different coasts, so I think there’s the pros and cons of anything, right?”
The quotidian routine Gbajabiamila has followed for the last few months will change as The Talk concludes, but it is not precluding from interest in future ventures within the entertainment genre. In fact, he is intrigued by the prospect of hosting a gameshow, distinguishing that the environment would correspond with his high-energy persona. For now though, he is concentrating on working in sports media again as innovation and evolution persist.
“I think the way television is going; the way everything is going – the NFL and being part of the thing I had the ability to play – sports is going to be here,” Gbajabiamila said. “TikTok and social media – it will take a major crisis in the world to end this meteoric rise of sports. It doesn’t seem like it’s going down. It just keeps growing and growing and growing, so it’s cool to be a part of that.”
Despite his hectic schedule, Gbajabiamila does not experience considerable difficulty in managing his responsibilities and is grateful to be entrusted with his jobs. As he approaches the halfway point of the season, he wants to continue expediting growth in syndication and demonstrate nuanced, entertaining football conversation. Arriving on set with pristine acumen, focus and determination allows Gbajabiamila to live in this purported suspended reality free of delimiting illusory spectra and stay on the cutting edge of multimedia programming.
“It’s the hybrid of both worlds – entertainment and sports – that’s the intersection that we’re in, right?” Gbajabiamila said. “You see that in everything we do now, so yeah, it’s like the perfect home for me because it gives me the appetite that I have to be in the entertainment space and the appetite that I have for sports.”
Derek Futterman is an associate 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, email Derek@BarrettMedia.com or find him on X @derekfutterman.
