Hall of Famer Michael Strahan to host Thursday Night Football pregame

Several Hall of Famer’s broadcast NFL games nationally including Gold Jackets Troy Aikman and James Lofton. Michael Strahan has been an analyst on the Fox pregame show and now he will host the Thursday night fox NFL national studio telecast.

After becoming a star on the football field in a Hall of Fame NFL career that ended with a victory in Super Bowl XLII, New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan has become a star on television, both in the football world and out of it. This Fall, Strahan is set to receive the opportunity to expand his duties as an analyst for FOX's coverage of the National Football League.

According to a report by Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated, FOX is expected to have Strahan host the network's pre-game show for Thursday Night Football from a New York studio. While FOX has traditionally done their pre-game shows from Los Angeles, Strahan's work as a co-host on ABC's Good Morning America would have presented a situation where the Giants great would not have been able to fulfill his football obligations. As such, the network will have their Thursday Night pre-game in the Big Apple, with their Sunday pre-game held in L.A. as usual.

Strahan will be joined on the pre-game show by his usual compatriots from Sunday's pre-game show, Hall of Famers Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw. FOX NFL Sunday host Curt Menefee and analyst Jimmy Johnson are not expecting to be part of the Thursday program.

Presently, FOX is finalizing a deal for its A-team of broadcasters, headlined by play-by-play announcer Joe Buck and color analyst Troy Aikman, to call the 11 Thursday night games the network will broadcast. FOX had unsuccessfully tried to recruit retired quarterback Peyton Manning to serve as an analyst on the Thursday night package.

Should the move come to fruition, Strahan's hosting a pre-game show will be another feather in the cap of his diverse television career. After retiring from pro football following his lone Super Bowl victory, Strahan not only joined FOX's NFL coverage, but also starred in web series as well as hosted a program on DIY Network. In 2011, he succeeded Regis Philbin as the co-host of Live! with Kelly and Michael, and proceeded to win an Emmy for "Outstanding Talk Show Host" twice. Strahan left Live! in 2016 to become the co-host of Good Morning America. In addition, Strahan also host a game show, The $100,000 Pyramid, on ABC.

Strahan played for the Giants from 1993 until Super Bowl XLII, and is a member of the team's Ring of Honor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2014, and has held the NFL record for most sacks in a single season since 2001.