Prime Video announced today that former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who retired in the offseason, will be joining its NFL pregame, halftime and postgame coverage this fall when the service presents its exclusive package. Fitzpatrick will join Tony Gonzalez and Richard Sherman for each TNF game.
“Although my playing career has come to an end, my love for football has not,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement. “I’m excited to start this new chapter with Thursday Night Football and looking forward to sharing my unique experiences and perspectives with football fans.”
Unique is right.
Fitzpatrick was the starting quarterback for nine different teams in his 17-year NFL run, the most in league history. His career was a see-saw, with flashes of brilliance offset by frustrating failures. He is the only NFL QB to throw a touchdown pass and an interception with eight different teams. On the Buccaneers in 2018, he became the first NFL quarterback to throw for over 400 yards in three consecutive games. Fitzpatrick holds the most career passing yards and passing touchdowns among NFL quarterbacks without any postseason appearances.
Fitzpatrick played college ball at Harvard, where he not only graduated with a degree in economics.
In training camp, he reportedly completed the Wonderlic test — which measures cognitive ability and problem-solving aptitude — in just nine minutes and, per The Wall Street Journal, scored a 48. That score is still the highest ever by a QB.
Today’s announcement was made by Jared Stacy, Prime Video’s director of Global Live Sports Production.
“One of the great characters in the league, Ryan has been a fan favorite and a beloved teammate everywhere he’s gone over the last 17 seasons,” said Stacy. “We’re thrilled to now have him on our Thursday Night Football team and know our viewers will love seeing his sense of humor and intelligence on display every week.”
Fitzpatrick joins an expanding roster of Prime Video Thursday Night Football on-air talent that includes legendary play-by-play announcer Al Michaels, five-time Emmy-winning analyst Kirk Herbstreit, Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Tony Gonzalez and All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman. Fred Gaudelli, producer of seven Super Bowls and a recent inductee into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame, will serve as the executive producer of Thursday Night Football’s game coverage. Multi-Emmy-award-winners Mike Muriano and Spoon Daftary are the executive and senior coordinating producers of Thursday Night Football’s pregame, halftime, and postgame coverage. Additional members of the TNF on-air team will be announced over the coming weeks.
Kicking off September 15, Prime Video will be the first streaming service to air a season-long exclusive national broadcast package with the NFL. The 11-year deal includes 15 regular-season games and one preseason game per year, with Prime Video also delivering new pregame, halftime, and postgame shows as well as interactive features like X-Ray and Next Gen Stats powered by AWS. Viewers can stream from the web at amazon.com/TNF or by using the Prime Video app.
