Rich Eisen is stepping back into the ESPN spotlight after more than twenty years, and he’s not exactly easing into it. The first move came in July, when ESPN revealed that The Rich Eisen Show—his Emmy-nominated daily mix of sports talk and pop culture—would shift from Roku to its own platforms. Starting September 2, the show will run at noon on ESPN Radio while also streaming on ESPN+, Disney+, and ESPN’s upcoming direct-to-consumer service.

And then came the twist. In mid-August, ESPN dropped another headline: Eisen would return to the SportsCenter desk—live from LA, teaming up with Mina Kimes for the 11 p.m. ET broadcast right after the Monday Night Football preseason game. It marked his first SportsCenter appearance since 2003, and ESPN leaned into the moment with a throwback intro just for him. But that’s not all from Eisen’s side. With the regular season nearly here, he’s making his next move.

The Chiefs will kick off their 2025 campaign against the Chargers on September 5 in São Paulo, Brazil. YouTube will live-stream the action, and yes, Rich Eisen will be the play-by-play announcer of the Week 1 showdown between these two AFC West rivals. Eisen will join Kurt Warner, who’s already signed on as the color analyst, on YouTube’s first regular-season NFL game.

The writing is on the wall: Eisen’s latest move isn’t just logical but necessary as well. Live streaming an NFL regular-season game and finding broadcasters has been tough for YouTube and Netflix. The reasons seem palpable: the networking giants like ESPN, Fox, NBC, CBS, and Amazon have remained hesitant when it comes to sharing their announcers.

Netflix handled the same situation last year by borrowing personalities from different networks for its Christmas Day NFL games. This year, the streaming giant is working with CBS, and that means only one thing. Expect CBS’s analysts like Nate Burleson and Matt Ryan calling the games for Netflix, along with Drew Brees, who isn’t tied to a network. However, YouTube’s problems persist.

The thing is, the Chiefs will face off against the Chargers on Sept. 5, which, if we’re not mistaken, is a super busy football weekend (NFL + college games). That means most top play-by-players are already working that weekend. But Rich Eisen is free that Friday. So it’s a sigh of relief for YouTube. To spice it up, Eisen and Warner have a history of working together. The duo is seen as NFL Network’s top team, usually calling about seven games a year, so the chemistry is already there.

On the flip side, Eisen is also making his first appearance at SportsCenter in over 20 years.

ESPN celebrates Rich Eisen’s return to SportsCenter

Rich Eisen cycled through Staten Island Advance and Chicago Tribune during the first six years of his broadcasting career before getting a big break. The veteran sportscaster joined ESPN back in 1996, most prominently as an anchor of SportsCenter, alongside the late Stuart Scott, for a number of years.

Eisen had combined sharp wit, playful impressions, and solid broadcasting skills to guide sports fans through the day’s top highlights, making his segments both entertaining and informative. So, when the word broke that Eisen is making a comeback to the SportsCenter desk for the first time in over 20 years, ESPN released a throwback intro to celebrate his return.

The throwback intro for SportsCenter was complete with horns and graphics that date back to… well, not this era of TV and media. Eisen will be returning to the Flagship Sports News Program after leaving the network in 2003. After nearly a decade at ESPN, Eisen moved over to NFL Network, quickly establishing himself as one of the standout talents on their expanding roster.

Since then, his eponymous show has gained a following of its own. Fast forward to today, and the 56-year-old has returned to the very place where it all began.