Moments in NFL History: Media deal forever changes NFL landscape
Predicting how someone might answer the open-ended question, “Are you ready?” becomes a lot easier when it’s asked of a hardcore fan of America’s most popular sport.
“For some football!” will be the reply.
“Monday Night Football” specifically.
A staple in football fans’ homes for well over half of the National Football League’s existence, there once was an era when not only “Monday Night Football” but any prime time football broadcast did not exist.
On this date (May 26) in 1969, the American Broadcasting Co. (ABC) signed a landmark deal with the NFL, forever changing the media landscape of American professional football. This three-year deal marked the first regularly scheduled series in sports television history.
PETE ROZELLE envisioned the possibility of playing games in prime time, initially aiming for Friday nights, a proposal quickly dismissed due to the popularity of high school football in America. Likewise, Saturday was out because of college football. Rozelle did not stop, though. He experimented with games on Monday nights, with two taking place in 1966-67 on CBS and two more in 1968-69 on NBC.
With television contact negotiations looming, Rozelle saw the opportunity to make what would become “Monday Night Football” a reality. He approached both CBS and NBC with the idea of a consistently scheduled game, but both were reluctant to give up their scheduled programming.
In stepped ABC, at the time a distant third in prime time ratings and more willing to take the risk Rozelle provided.
The NFL and ABC struck gold.
“ABC Monday Night Football” ran on the network from 1970 to 2005 before becoming “ESPN Monday Night Football” in 2006 – still in the Disney family of networks. ABC came back into the fold in 2020 with Monday night games simulcast on the network, expanding to telecasts in 2022. Hall of Famer PEYTON MANNING and his NFL Legend brother Eli also have made their impact on the series. Since 2020, they have host the “Manningcast” of select Monday night games, giving fans a look inside the huddle with film breakdown and special celebrity guests.
The importance of “Monday Night Football” extends beyond captivating an audience. The players on the field felt the importance of the franchise, too.
“‘Monday Night Football’ was a spotlight on the teams playing and the entire league. It was live and the only game on that day,” Hall of Famer LYNN SWANN told the Hall. “With my family not living in Pittsburgh, I wanted to play my best.”
Swann not only excelled on the field several times on Mondays, he also became a vital member of the games’ broadcasting crew, serving as a commentator in 1986-87 and as a sideline reporter from 1994-97.
He wasn’t the only Hall of Famer to make the transition from the field to the “MNF” booth.
“‘Monday Night Football’ was so important to me because I realized that I was a member of the NFL’s flagship broadcast,” Hall of Famer DAN DIERDORF told the Hall. “‘MNF’ was a vital part of the overall history of the NFL.”
Hall of Fame coach DICK VERMEIL also made the jump from the sidelines to the booth in the early 1980s and said his TV work made him a better coach when he returned to that profession with the Rams in 1997.
“Changing to broadcasting gave me the opportunity as a former football coach to be on a field organized and run by another coach,” he told the Hall in a recent interview. “I was not only there to broadcast and present the game … I found myself observing how other coaches coached.
“It was 14 years of great education. BILL PARCELLS was preparing his team; TOM LANDRY, BUD GRANT, DON SHULA. Sitting in on their meetings was both an educational experience and fun.”
Like Swann, Dierdorf and Vermeil, other Hall of Famers traded their football gear for a headset and left an impact on the game from the broadcast booth, among them FRANK GIFFORD, ALEX KARRAS, FRAN TARKENTON, JOE NAMATH, DAN FOUTS, ERIC DICKERSON, MIKE DITKA, STEVE YOUNG and JOHN MADDEN. Several other Hall of Famers have worked in the studio as analysts.
“I say I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” John Madden said in his Enshrinement speech in 2006 about his broadcasting career.
Football fans consider themselves the lucky ones – to hear Madden’s and other legendary voices take an idea of Commissioner Rozelle’s and make it part of the sports and TV landscape for 56 seasons and counting.
This article from the Hall of Fame Communications Team is part of recurring series celebrating memorable moments in NFL history.
