Scott Hanson is back for another season of wall-to-wall Sundays on NFL RedZone, but it didn't come without a serious battle behind the scenes.
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The longtime host, known for his upbeat style and marathon broadcasting stints, revealed this week that his return required what he described as a "knockdown, drag-out negotiation" with the NFL.
"There was quite a knockdown drag-out negotiation, but I'm thrilled to be back," Hanson told Sports Illustrated's Jimmy Traina, via Reice Shipley of Awful Announcing. "Thrilled that we were able to come to an agreement. To think that I would be on the show for 20 years, and have it be as successful as it has been, as it most likely will be, is extraordinary."
According to Hanson, talks began before the 2023 season and dragged on without resolution into the fall. Once the games kicked off, he decided to shift his focus back to the broadcast, even as uncertainty lingered about his future with the network.
"I've been the host of the show for 16 years now. I've been with the NFL for 18 seasons," he said. "They've been good for me. I'd like to think I've been good for them. A reasonable mind should be able to come to an agreement here. However, the NFL, as they are wont to do, they are very tough negotiators."
That sentiment didn't go unnoticed by Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, who wrote that the league "never pays a penny more than it thinks it has to. For anything."
Despite his reputation as a low-key and universally liked presence in sports media, Hanson had to take a firm stance in order to secure the job he's become synonymous with.
"I love my job. I love hosting RedZone, and I hope that comes across," Hanson told Traina. "I love serving the football public, and that's why I look at myself as a servant. I'm not doing it to glorify myself. I'm not doing it to try and make my platform greater. That is a byproduct of plenty of millions of people on NFL Sundays. I'm trying to serve the viewer as I want to be served."
Hanson's return is a win for fans — and yeah, probably a reminder that even the most amicable faces in the NFL orbit aren't immune from the league's cutthroat approach to business.
