Aaron Rodgers says he plans to disappear after his final NFL season, but one of the sport’s most prominent broadcasters thinks he needs to be in the booth.
Towards the end of Sunday night’s game between the Cowboys and Packers, NBC’s Cris Collinsworth opened up about a private conversation at a recent dinner in which there was a spirited debate about what kind of color commentator Rodgers could become.
With Collinsworth arguing that the four-time MVP would be “great” on television if he so chooses.
Scott Galvin-Imagn Images.
Cris Collinsworth thinks Aaron Rodgers would be a ‘great’ NFL broadcaster
Collinsworth didn’t mind opening up about the details of the dinner in front of a national “Sunday Night Football” audience which seemed to catch his partner Mike Tirico by surprise.
But after a quick apology, the longtime NFL voice insisted that the cat was already out of the bag and that he could see Rodgers being a John McEnroe-type in the world of football.
“The bottom line is, like I always thought that John McEnroe, when he was a tennis announcer, you knew from what he said as a player, like he didn’t withhold anything, right? Officials and whatever, he was gonna let you know exactly what he felt, which is great for a broadcaster, and I think Aaron would fall into that same category,” Collinsworth explained. “We know at the very least we’re gonna know what he’s thinking.”
Rodgers is set to retire at a time when two of the league’s top analyst jobs are set to open up. Tony Romo’s run at CBS is over and Troy Aikman is likely nearing the end at ESPN with no new contract signed despite Joe Buck inking an extension.
There’s no inkling at this point that Aaron would have any interest in calling games. But there’s no doubt that networks will keep him in close contact in the off chance that he might have a change of heart.
