ESPN’s Laura Rutledge is adding an extra duty onto her plate in the fall as her football season is set to get just a bit longer.
Rutledge, who is the host of the network’s daily pro football show ‘NFL Live’, is set to make a move to the sidelines for ‘Monday Night Football’ each week.
She will be joining Lisa Salters – who recently got a contract extension – for all 20 games the network will broadcast this season. They’ll work alongside the No. 1 team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
This would include 17 games on MNF, one of the games in a Week 18 double-header, a wild-card game, and a divisional-round game.
Rutledge told The Athletic, ”Monday Night Football’ is the pinnacle and it’s always been a dream of mine.
‘I still get chills every time I hear the ‘MNF’ music. Really excited to continue to work as hard as possible to earn this role.’
ESPN’s Laura Rutledge will return to the sidelines as a reporter for ‘Monday Night Football’
Rutledge, age 36, will still keep her roles as the host of ‘NFL Live’ and ‘SEC Nation’
The 36-year-old Rutledge, who has previously won Miss Florida, worked a few games as a second sideline reporter for MNF in the past.
She also gave plenty of credit to Salters for her help to grow her skillset.
‘To even see my name next to Lisa Salters, is an honor,’ Rutledge said in a 2024 ESPN Front Row profile. ‘For years now, she has been such a wonderful mentor and friend to me.’
Rutledge is now on track to be on the sidelines when ESPN broadcasts Super Bowl LXI in 2027 from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
It’s set to be the first time that ESPN will ever broadcast the Super Bowl.
In addition to the promotion, Rutledge will still host ‘NFL Live’ as well as ‘SEC Nation’ on Saturday mornings prior to each week’s college football slate.
