ESPN/NFL television deal keeps MNF on network through 2021

ESPN and the NFL announced an eight-year rights extension on Thursday that will keep Monday Night Football on ESPN through 2021 and will increase the number of NFL-related shows on the network significantly.

The agreement, which begins in 2014 at the end of the current deal, also includes more broadband rights for ESPN.com and ESPN mobile platforms, increased international rights and the option to carry a wild-card playoff game on ESPN if the NFL decides to.

ESPN NFL Coverage

ESPN's weekly NFL programming lineup, thanks to a new eight-year programming deal announced Thursday:

Sunday
• NFL Matchup (3 a.m., 7:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. (ESPN2)
• Sunday NFL Countdown (10 a.m., ESPN)
• Fantasy Football Now (11:30 a.m., ESPN2)
• SportsCenter (7 p.m., ESPN)
• The Blitz on SportsCenter (11 p.m., ESPN)
Monday
• NFL Primetime (3 p.m., ESPN)
• NFL Live (4 p.m., ESPN)
• SportsCenter Monday Kickoff (6 p.m., ESPN)
• Monday Night Countdown (7 p.m., ESPN)
• Monday Night Football (8:30 p.m., ESPN)
• SportsCenter (11:30 p.m, ESPN)
• NFL Primetime (1 a.m. ET, ESPN)
Weekdays
• NFL Live (4 p.m., ESPN)
• NFL 32 (6 p.m., ESPN2)
• Audibles (Thurs., 7 p.m., ESPN)
• NFL Kickoff (Fri., 7 p.m., ESPN2)

The agreement includes 17 Monday Night Football games a season through 2021, an additional 500 hours of new NFL-branded studio programming (beginning immediately), extra highlights on all platforms, coverage of the Pro Bowl and NFL draft, the ability to show Monday Night Football and NFL studio programming on the WatchESPN app, and rights for ESPN Deportes and international networks, including regular season, playoff games and the Super Bowl in 144 countries.

ESPN first agreed to a deal with the NFL in 1980 to cover the draft. It started covering regular-season games in 1987 with Sunday Night Football and moved to Monday Night Football in 2006. Eight of the top 10 programs in cable history (excluding breaking news) were NFL games on ESPN.

"Today, we've secured cable's most valuable television franchise, along with an enhanced international package of year-round multimedia rights," said ESPN/ABC Sports president George Bodenheimer. "It will help grow our business well into the next decade. No one has the breadth of worldwide media assets or the ability to monetize a property the way ESPN can, particularly with Monday Night Football and our complete NFL coverage."

Among the immediate additional NFL offerings on ESPN will be an extra hour of Sunday NFL Countdown, beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Sept. 11. In addition, NFL Live will expand to an hour each day throughout the year, beginning at 4 p.m. ET.

A new daily show -- "NFL 32" -- debuts on Tuesday, Sept. 13 on ESPN2. Suzy Kolber and Chris Mortensen, along with other analysts, will dissect the biggest topics of the day from all 32 NFL teams.

"NFL Kickoff" begins on Friday, Sept. 16 on ESPN2, and will help set up the weekend with a look at every matchup.

"Audibles," which debuted on a limited-run basis last year, will be a Thursday night staple on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET and will feature new ESPN NFL analyst Jerry Rice along with Steve Young, Keyshawn Johnson, Herm Edwards and Trent Dilfer.

There will be additional NFL highlights on nearly 30 additional ESPN shows, plus ESPN.com and Mobile ESPN.com.

"We are proud to extend our three-decade partnership with ESPN," said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. "We have come a long way together since ESPN first televised the NFL draft in 1980. With this new agreement we are excited about the opportunity to take the NFL-ESPN partnership to innovative new heights in serving the most passionate fans in sports."

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Ask Amile : Redskins & Raider Fan Talk PLUS...The Art of Tackling

Any questions?

Have a question for Amile? Connect with her HERE. She may answer your question in her "Ask Amile" column. 

From the inbox

Q. Why are so many people writing off the Redskins so quickly? In my opinion their season is very unpredictable. Their defense looks very good on paper and has the potential to be great. Their offense has had reasonable upgrades at key positions, and they have great depth at tight end. As for the quarterback issue, I don't see a huge issue. Rex Grossman did lead a team to the Super Bowl and John Beck hasn't had a chance to prove anyone wrong or right, so it's wrong to write him off. Do you think that the Redskins have the potential to go .500 or have a wild card spot this year?

Robert from Leesburg, Va.

A. "Potential" is a dirty word in the NFL, and I think most of the doubt relating to the Redskins revolves around their QB situation because their run game has looked stellar thus far in the preseason. No matter who starts for the Skins, he clearly will be the least accomplished passer in a very tough division, and therein lies the problem. Although I think we know what Grossman is as a quarterback, I believe the jury is still out on Beck. I don't know how people can have such definitive opinions after four starts as a rookie for a horrendous Dolphins team. He might be terrible, or he could end up being great or something in between, but how does anyone know at this point? They don't. The Shanahans are staking their reputation on him, which means either way it will be very interesting.

Q. Do you think that tackling is a lost art in the NFL? It seems that so many players go for that "Big Hit" that there are far too many missed tackles. I'm not trying to take anything away from the RBs, WRs etc., breaking tackles, but defenders seem to look for the highlight reel hit or the "Ole!" arm-tackle."Your thoughts?

Pat from Indianapolis

A. I'm not surprised to get this email from Indy, given how poorly the Colts' defense has tackled thus far this preseason. As far as overall tackling, this is something that I hear all the time. Most people just accept it as fact, but I am not convinced. I'd love to see some sort of metrics that support the thesis that tackling is a lot worse now than it used to be. Sometimes I think it is kind of like the "when I was your age, I used to walk five miles to school uphill barefoot in the snow" thought process. There are plenty of players who are very sure tacklers. Maybe those who aren't shouldn't be on the field.

Q. As a Raider fan it is hard to become excited about this upcoming season, so is there anything that the Raider Nation and I should pay attention to in order to stay interested in our team?

Brian from Rubidoux, Calif.

A. I share your concern about the Raiders this year and am very disappointed by their offseason. The Raiders have an awesome fan base, and the league is more interesting when they are good. I fear they are going in the wrong direction this year. They won more than five games for the first time since 2002, going a respectable 8-8 last season, yet they fired their head coach and lost their best offensive player (Zach Miller), defensive player (Nnamdi Asomugha) and offensive lineman (Robert Gallery) in free agency. That's not good. Seems to me that with the exorbitant contracts that they gave to Michael Huff, Kamerion Wimbley and Stanford Routt, the Raiders paid the wrong guys. When you talk with other executives around the league, it always seems as though the Raiders are negotiating with themselves. No other team would have given contracts even close to the amount that the Raiders gave those three good but not elite players.

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Chris Johnson ......still no word?

Holdout running back Chris Johnson arrived in Nashville Tuesday after posting on this Twitter page earlier in the day that he would discuss his contract demands with Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Reinfeldt in a meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

Johnson told The (Nashville) Tennessean that he wasn't sure if the meeting would result in a new deal. Agent Joel Segal declined comment to the newspaper.

"I want to be here. We'll see," Johnson told the Tennessean.

While the Titans publicly stated they are willing to make Johnson the highest-paid running back in the NFL, those close to the player believe he should be paid as one of the NFL's top playmakers -- not just as a running back, sources familiar with the situation have told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

League sources have told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen that Johnson is seeking a deal that would pay him $39 million over the first three years, a $13 million average, which would place him in that elite status he is seeking beyond the running back market.

When the newspaper asked Johnson what would occur if the Titans wouldn't agree to his salary demands, he said he would reserve comment until after Wednesday's meeting.

"I have no answers today. I'll answer that tomorrow," he told the newspaper.

Johnson's holdout started when he didn't report to training camp with the rest of the Titans on July 29. Reinfeldt told The Associated Press on Aug. 11 that they were willing to make Johnson the highest-paid running back in league history.

Johnson, who is due to earn more than $1 million in 2011 in the fourth year of his five-year contract, tweeted "god is good" to Larry Fitzgerald on Saturday night after news broke about the Arizona receiver's deal worth up to $120 million (with nearly $50 million in guaranteed money).

Johnson and Segal probably shouldn't be counting on Bud Adams to speed up the process. The Titans' owner said Sunday that with two years left on the running back's contract, he backs Reinfeldt.

I'm Just Saying...

Chris Johnson wants to be paid more than what a top running back gets paid, but last season he didn't rank in the top three in any major individual rushing category.

Chris Johnson Rushing, Last Season

	Total	NFL Rank
Yards	1,364	4th
Rushes	316	6th
TD	11	T-6th
YPG	85.3	7th
Yds per rush	4.3	19th

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"I'm not gonna make any offer with the way he's acting. Life's too short," Adams told TitanInsider.

Tennessee rolled up 198 yards rushing in a 17-16 loss at St. Louis on Saturday night without Johnson. Rookie Jamie Harper started in place of Johnson's backup, Javon Ringer, and the fourth-round pick from Clemson ran 11 times for 83 yards and a touchdown.

Stafon Johnson added 68 yards rushing and the Titans outgained the Rams 198-44 on the ground.

Coach Mike Munchak said the Titans aren't going to entertain trade offers for Johnson, a three-time Pro Bowl running back who has the most yards rushing of any NFL back the past three seasons. The coach also doesn't agree that the Titans picked up negotiating leverage with how well they ran the ball through some big holes without Johnson.

"I could easily stand here and say CJ would've scored on three of those," Munchak said. "I don't know if he would have, but with his speed coming through there ... We're lucky we had guys who stepped up."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.