Robert Griffin III is used to bursting onto the scene in a big way, and he’s doing that again in sports media. The Baylor star captured his school’s first and only Heisman Trophy in 2011, then made a statement by winning the NFL Rookie of the Year Award the next season.
A decade later, RGIII didn’t quite live up to the hype he built during that stretch, and he chatted with The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch all about his journey into broadcasting last week.
“This offseason, I didn’t want to take that same approach,” Griffin said about only focusing on returning to the NFL. “So I continued to train every day but I started knocking on some other doors. It all started with an audition with Fox. I never thought that broadcasting (games) would be the avenue for me. I thought it would be more studio. But I called a game (as part of an audition process) for Fox and ESPN found out about it. Then I called a (practice) game for ESPN. The rest is history. I’m now on this wild ride and it’s been a lot of fun.”
Griffin had tryouts with both ESPN and FOX but ultimately went with the worldwide leader. Deitsch picked his brain on what exactly happens in high-scale broadcast auditions.
“They give you a recipe of how many different teams it could be and you just have to study all those different teams,” Griffin told Deitsch. “They don’t give you the exact game because they don’t want you trying to predict what’s going to happen because you’ve already seen said game. We called a full game and then I did some studio work with Kevin [Burkhardt]. You just have to rely on your experience and the things that you see and how you see the game. That’s what they are most focused on.
Deitsch confirmed that the two competitors both made offers to RGIII. Griffin weighed plenty of different factors before making his decision.
“Yeah, they both made offers. It was a lot of back and forth. It was a tough discussion. Because it was not only just which network to go to and what was the best opportunity right now, but it was also making sure you go about it the right way and don’t burn any of those bridges and keep that communication open because you never know what could happen in the future.
“On top of that, I’m still 31. It was a little bit of concern that I would go back and play. But for me right now, we’re over halfway through the season and I have a job. My job is to be the best broadcaster I can possibly be for ESPN.”
Check out the full conversation between Deitsch and Griffin here.