ESPN Goes All-In on Sideline Coverage for Monday Night Football
ESPN boosts its NFL coverage with two sideline reporters for every game of the 2025 season.
ESPN is doubling down on its gameday access for the 2025 NFL season, announcing a revamped and expanded sideline reporting team for its entire 25-game Monday Night Football schedule.
What’s Happening:
- With the new season approaching, ESPN is ensuring fans are closer to the action than ever with a new two-reporter sideline system for all its NFL broadcasts.
- The main broadcast team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will now be joined weekly by decorated veteran Lisa Salters and the newly elevated Laura Rutledge for all 20 of their telecasts.
- For the five games called by the crew of Chris Fowler, Dan Orlovsky, and Louis Riddick (including four double-header weeks and Week 18’s Saturday games), Katie George and Peter Schrager will team up on the sidelines.
- An Emmy-winner and the longest-tenured sideline reporter in Monday Night Football history, Lisa Salters has signed a contract extension, set to begin her 14th season in the role.
- After several seasons contributing to marquee MNF games and playoffs, two-time Emmy recipient Laura Rutledge brings her reporting to the premier crew every week, while continuing to host NFL Live and SEC Nation.
- Katie George, an accomplished college football and NBA reporter for ESPN, will make her NFL sideline debut. Peter Schrager, who joined ESPN in March, returns to a sideline role he previously held at FOX and NFL Network.
- The Spanish-language broadcast will feature the returning duo of MJ Acosta-Ruiz and the veteran John Sutcliffe on the sidelines, joining Rebeca Landa and Sebastian Martinez-Christensen in the booth.
A Sideline Rich in History
- The role of the sideline reporter has become an integral part of the football viewing experience, but it wasn't always a staple of the broadcast.
- The original Monday Night Football broadcasts, which began in 1970, were famous for the three-man booth of Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, and "Dandy" Don Meredith. The broadcast didn't permanently add a sideline reporter until the 1990s.
- Lynn Swann, the Hall of Fame Steelers wide receiver, was one of the first prominent sideline reporters for MNF in the mid-90s, bringing a player's perspective to the broadcast.
- The role was later defined for a generation by groundbreaking female journalists. Lesley Visser became the first woman on the MNF broadcast team in 1998. She was followed by industry titans like Melissa Stark, Michele Tafoya, and Suzy Kolber.
- Lisa Salters' 14th season extends her own record, cementing her as a legendary figure in the role. Her longevity surpasses that of any other sideline reporter in the show's 55+ year history.
- The modern two-reporter system, now being implemented for all games, allows for more comprehensive coverage—one reporter can focus on the offense and coach communication while the other tracks the defense and injuries, providing viewers with a constant stream of insider information from both benches.
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