Colin Cowherd confirmed today he has, as expected, signed a four-year contract with Fox Sports. “I can’t wait for this next chapter in my career to start. FOX Sports is the perfect spot for me at this time in my life,” Cowherd said in a statement released by the network.
It has been, as Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch put it, “one of the worst-kept secrets in sports broadcasting.”
Cowherd will host a three-hour sports-talk show, The Herd, starting September 8. The show will be simulcast on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Sports Radio. “Colin is the first person I hired for my first daily studio show at ESPN, so it’s fitting that he’s the first one I’m hiring at FS1,” said Jamie Horowitz, president of Fox Sports.
Cowherd will also be part of the network’s Fox NFL Kickoff show, the lead-in to Fox NFL Sunday. “Colin is a unique voice in sports media with a loyal following of fans, and we’re looking forward to building our daytime programming around him,” said Horowitz.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cowherd revealed he had talks with both CNN and MSNBC:
There were rumors that you were going to leave sports to do a political show. Did you ever consider that?
I wanted to be Donald Trump‘s running mate. (Laughs.) It was never factual but it gained traction because I talk about politics. I did interview with MSNBC and CNN, but there was no traction. Political radio is often angry. I’m not angry. I like to laugh. I want to be funny and interesting and compelling. You have to know what you are and what you’re not. And I’m not a politico.