Brian Griese, ESPN’s Newest ‘Monday Night Football’ Commentator, Cashed in During His NFL Days
Over a decade after his NFL career ended, Brian Griese is taking his talents to arguably the sport’s biggest stage.
Griese, the longtime NFL quarterback and son of Dolphins legend Bob Griese, is the newest member of the Monday Night Football crew. Griese, along with Steve Levy and Louis Riddick, will make his full-time ‘MNF’ debut in a Titans-Broncos game to close out Week 1.
Here’s more on Griese, who cashed in during his NFL career before he joined ESPN.
Brian Griese played 11 NFL seasons
The son of Miami Dolphins legend and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese, Brian made his NFL debut in 1998.
Needing to find a long-term successor for John Elway, Denver used a third-round pick on Brian Griese, then a star at Michigan. Griese didn’t play much his rookie year while Elway completed his career with a Super Bowl victory over Atlanta.
A year later, Griese took the starting reins and completed 57.7% of his passes for 3,032 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions. Although Griese earned Pro Bowl honors in 2000, he never grew into the elite quarterback Denver imagined he would.
Denver parted ways with Griese after the 2002 season. Griese spent 2003 with the Miami Dolphins, his father’s old team, and threw five touchdowns to six interceptions.
Griese cashed in as a player
Brian Griese signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004 and impressed under Jon Gruden.
Griese completed a career-high 69.3% of his passes for 2,632 yards, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 10 starts. Tampa Bay signed Griese to a five-year, $32 million contract extension in February 2005.
Griese wasn’t long for Tampa Bay, though. Although he went 5-1 before suffering a knee injury, Tampa Bay waived Griese rather than pay him a $2.6 million roster bonus for the 2006 season.
Griese signed a five-year contract with the Chicago Bears in 2006. Spotrac reported the contract was worth $14.5 million.
Griese rejoined the Buccaneers after a 2008 trade.
Brian Griese retired in 2009 having completed 62.7% of his passes for 19,440 yards, 119 touchdowns, and 99 interceptions in 93 games and 83 starts.
Brian Griese will now appear on ‘Monday Night Football’
Brian Griese is ESPN’s latest hopeful fix to the revolving Monday Night Football booth.
Griese joins a new announcing team with Steve Levy and longtime NFL executive Louis Riddick. Veteran sideline reporter Lisa Salters will continue in that role.
The crew’s first game of the 2020 season is the final Week 1 sideline: Ryan Tannehill’s Titans against Drew Lock’s Denver Broncos.
That group replaces Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland, Griese’s former teammate in Tampa Bay. Both returned to ESPN’s college football coverage this fall.
Jason Witten spent the 2018 season with Tessitore and McFarland. Witten returned to the Dallas Cowboys last year and now plays for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, a duo that normally works on the network’s college football coverage, called the Steelers’ opener at the New York Giants in the early ‘MNF’ slot.
Barring postponements, there will only be one Monday Night Football game per week through Week 16.
All contract figures courtesy of Spotrac.
