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| Jonathan Vilma |
Super Bowl Champion Jonathan Vilma has decided to leave ESPN/ABC and will sign with Fox to be an NFL game analyst, according to sources. Vilma will likely work with Kenny Albert on Sundays in the fall.
Besides the Vilma signing from ESPN, Fox has picked off three others from ESPN. Up-and-coming play-by-player Adam Amin will be in Fox’s NFL and MLB booths. Meanwhile, FS1 is bringing in Emmanuel Acho for its morning sports talks shows and Fox News/Fox Nation is expected to take current ESPN Radio talk show host Will Cain. Fox has not yet officially confirmed any of the moves.
In the wake of the downturn in the economy that has greatly impacted Disney and ESPN, the company has tightened up its wallet in negotiations, but it wanted to keep Vilma and may have even offered a little bit more money than Fox. ESPN’s commitment was believed to be for more work dates than Fox, which makes the money difference smaller.
Vilma, 38, strongly considered staying with Disney as he enjoyed his role on ABC college football pregame, where his co-analyst was Mark Sanchez, and his appearances on ESPN shows such as “Get Up” during the week. Ultimately, NFL game analyst jobs do not come along that often and Vilma will have room to grow at Fox, having already shown he can do studio and can now expand into games.
Albert previously worked with Ronde Barber. Fox did not renew Barber’s contract last year. Fox likes Albert’s experience as Vilma will be a rookie NFL analyst.
Joe Buck and Troy Aikman remain atop Fox Sports’ NFL game pyramid as the network’s lead voices on Sundays and Thursdays.
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