ESPN’s Peter Schrager speaks out on NFL Network departure

Peter Schrager knew it was time to move on.

Reflecting on his March departure from NFL Network, where he had co-hosted “Good Morning Football” since 2016, the new ESPN personality said this week on the “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” podcast that once the program relocated from New York to Los Angeles, he started pondering what could be next.

“For me, once they moved the show to L.A., I had a year left on my contract and I started plotting my next step. I don’t have anything left to give that show. I love that show. I root for it. In fact, I still watch it in the mornings when I’m flipping around,” Schrager said.

“… I couldn’t do another ‘Whiteboard Wednesday.’ I couldn’t do another remote segment where we’re interviewing the same whatever-it-is, another year. I just felt like, creatively, it was time, and my contract was up. Once they moved it to L.A., that to me was the future on the wall.”

NFL Network announced in March 2024 that the morning show, also starring co-hosts Kyle Brandt and Jamie Erdahl, would be shifting to the West Coast.

Although Schrager “tried getting there as often as possible,” it was hardly a sustainable lifestyle.

“I did a week of shows every month out in the West Coast. But it was waking up at 2 a.m. It just wasn’t sensible. I was not moving my family. I did the best job I could until the contract was up,” he said.

Upon exiting NFL Network, Schrager agreed to a multi-year agreement with ESPN in April, offering his commentary on programs such as “Get Up,” “First Take” and “The Pat McAfee Show,” to name a few.

“I am so happy. I am so excited,” Schrager said. “Already I feel creatively energized and to work with new people and to get new perspectives. It’s been really cool.”

Schrager began his career at ESPN.com in 2004 before pivoting to Fox Sports two years later.