CHRIS BERMAN EXTENDS DEAL THROUGH ESPN AND HIS 50TH ANNIVERSARIES

INCLUDES ROLE IN ESPN'S FIRST SUPER BOWL IN 2027

Legendary ESPN anchor Chris Berman, who joined the network just after its September 7, 1979, launch, has extended his contract and as a result, in 2029 would be ESPN's first employee to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Berman, who has been closely associated with ESPN's NFL coverage beginning with the 1981 NFL Draft, will contribute to the coverage of ESPN's first Super Bowl on February 14, 2027. Berman, the recipient of many football honors including the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is the long-time host of NFL PrimeTime, which continues in 2025 on ESPN+ and with post-season special editions on ESPN. In 2000, 2003 and 2006, Chris anchored ABC's Super Bowl XXXIV, XXXVII and XL pre-game shows

Chris Berman said: "I came to ESPN at 24 years young for my first full-time TV job. I had a full head of hair, was wet behind the ears, and my assignment was to host the wrap-up SportsCenter at 2:30 a.m. ESPN had been on the air for less than a month and we had fewer than 100 employees.

"Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined turning 70 and still being here at our network, which long ago became an icon of sports broadcasting. We're closing in on our very first Super Bowl, and now I will be able to be part of that, too.

"My thank yous are to everyone who has worked at ESPN-past, present and future. The same goes out to our viewers-past, present and future-as you welcome us into your homes with the same love of sports we have.

"It is mind-blowing to think that I now have the opportunity and good fortune to work here for 50 years, which would be two-thirds of my entire life!"

ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro added: "For a remarkable half-century, Chris has embodied ESPN with his smart and entertaining style. Boomer's enjoyment of sports jumps through the screen and generations of fans have loved being along for the ride. ESPN has been so fortunate to have Chris making us better for decades and I am delighted that will continue beyond our 50th anniversary. And no studio broadcaster has meant more to NFL coverage than Chris and to have his presence on our first Super Bowl presentation is both apropos and significant."

Berman joined ESPN on October 1, 1979 and celebrated his 70th birthday May 10. He is a six-time National Sportscaster of the Year and a member of several Halls of Fame, including the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, the National Sports Media Association (formerly NSSA) Hall of Fame and Cable Hall of Fame.

NFL PrimeTime, the highest-rated studio show in cable history, is what he may be best known for, but his contributions have been impressively wide. When ESPN first got NFL rights in 1987, Berman was already the host of NFL GameDay (later named NFL Countdown) and continued in that role for a total of 31 years.

Berman regularly hosted ESPN's flagship SportsCenter during the network's first 11 years, often doing 10 shows a week. And his other works have ranged from Major League Baseball to the NHL to golf and even darts.

Berman's catch phrases have entered the sports lexicon from: "He could... go... all... the... way", "Back, Back, Back, Back, Back" and "Whoop!".

Throughout his career, viewers have loved Chris' lighthearted and humorous approach, including his nicknames. Berman's personal favorites from the more than 1,000 monikers he has coined include: Bert "Be Home" Blyleven, Roberto "Remember the" Alomar, and Jim "Two Silhouettes On" Deshaies for baseball; plus Andre "Bad Moon Rison and Mike "You're in Good Hands with" Alstott for football.

His coverage of Major League Baseball for ESPN spanned almost four decades and has included play-by-play and hosting the Home Run Derby from 1986-2016 plus Baseball Tonight. Berman's most significant contribution to MLB history came Sept. 6, 1995, when he handled play-by-play for the Emmy Award-winning telecast of Cal Ripken's 2,131st consecutive game in 1995. Among those who joined him in the booth was President Bill Clinton.

He covered 31 All-Star games and 30 World Series for ESPN, including the 1989 San Francisco Earthquake.

BERMAN AND THE NFL

He partnered on ESPN NFL studio shows with Tom Jackson for 30 years, including 19 years on NFL PrimeTime. The unheard of in TV mark is just one year shy of the longest duo - 31 years - Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon. And Chris' 31 years hosting were more than double the years his NFL studio role model Brent Musburger achieved.

In January 2017, following the final Sunday NFL Countdown show Berman hosted in Bristol, Conn., ESPN fittingly renamed the NFL studio in its Digital Center 2 "The Chris Berman-Tom Jackson studio."

Berman's signature weekly halftime highlights trip through the NFL, "The Fastest Three Minutes in Television." was a staple on ESPN's Sunday Night Football for all 19 years (1987-2005) and continued Monday Nights through 2016 and returned in 2019. It remains a fundamental part of ESPN's NFL game presentation.

The pre-eminent NFL host, Berman serves as Master of Ceremony for the prestigious Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony, spanning more than two decades, starting in 1999.

The "Swami," Berman's prognosticating alter-ego, provided weekly NFL predictions and observations on SportsCenter starting ESPN's first year in 1979.

The 2027 Super Bowl will be the 45th that Chris will have worked for ESPN.

MORE BOOMER

Berman is also a golf enthusiast who has played in countless PGA TOUR pro-ams, and enjoyed working the US Open for ESPN from 1986-2014. He has played himself in 15 motion pictures and is expected to be in his 16th this summer with the release of Happy Gilmore 2.

The history major at Brown (1977) is now an historical figure at ESPN and in sports media.

Berman began his career as a disc jockey, sports expert and traffic reporter first at WERI in Westerly, R.I. and then WNVR In Waterbury, Conn.. His first TV assignment was as a weekend sports anchor on WVIT in Hartford, Conn. in the summer of 1979

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