Chris Berman will end his role as host of Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown and ESPN’s NFL draft coverage, according to a report by Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch.
Deitsch’s report follows a story published by The Big Lead, which suggested Berman would retire completely from ESPN after the 2016 NFL season, ending a career that began shortly after the network’s debut in 1979.
ESPN has yet to comment, but Berman’s agent told Richard Sandomir of The New York Times his client isn’t done at ESPN:
Chris Berman's agent denies retirement report:"Chris is NOT retiring. Loves what he's doing too much and is too young to hang 'em up."
— Richard Sandomir (@RichSandomir) May 27, 2016
Deitsch cites ESPN sources who say “the possibility exists for Berman, 61, to have some sort of broadcasting emeritus role in 2017–18, which could include working on the network’s NFL postseason or Super Bowl coverage.”