GAME SHOW

Jason Kelce, Richard Sherman, and Nate Burleson may be football prodigies, but they weren't natural-born commentators―they took a crash course at the NFL's Broadcast Boot Camp. VF has a sneak peek at the class of 2025

- TOM KLUDT

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION! NFL Network anchor Chris Rose and running back Chase Edmonds call a game.

FOR NINE SEASONS, Kevin Minter had one of the most demanding jobs in the NFL. An inside linebacker, he was responsible for relaying signals to teammates and delivering punishing hits to the opposition. But now, four years removed from his last snap, Minter has swapped his pads for a mic, his uniform for a crisply tailored suit, and is trying to make the cut in another ultracompetitive field: television.

On a spring afternoon I caught Minter playing the role of color commentator alongside NBC play-by-play announcer Paul Burmeister. For this simulated game, they stared at a monitor that showed last season's week-two contest between the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles. As Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley gashed the Atlanta defense early in the first quarter, Minter grimaced. Once a linebacker, always a linebacker. "These Falcons gotta step up in this run game," Minter said.

After about 10 minutes the simulation was over-and Minter looked like he had seen a ghost. Every player has a "welcome to the NFL" moment, a humbling episode that underlines the differences between the amateurs and pros. What Minter experienced here was probably the sports media equivalent. Calling a game, it turns out, isn't any easier than playing.

"That," he said to Burmeister, "was something else." Meanwhile, inside a cavernous soundstage that was blanketed with a green screen, Chase Edmonds stood alongside NFL Network's Chris Rose.