Louis Riddick Has Gone from NFL Star to NFL Scout to NFL Commentator
Learn about Louis Riddick’s net worth, salary, and career now that the former Cleveland Browns safety is co-hosting ESPN’s "Monday Night Football."
April 30 2021, Published 12:52 p.m. ET
Former football star Louis Riddick was on deck on April 29, as ESPN covered the 2021 NFL Draft. Riddick has been a regular presence on the cable channel since 2013, but his profile got a big boost last year when he became one of the analysts for ESPN’s Monday Night Football.
That cushy job is the latest accomplishment for the Pennsylvania native, who played seven seasons in the NFL and became a World Bowl champ during his time in the World League of American Football.
In fact, Riddick even made a name for himself way back in 1986, when he was named to the USA Today All-USA high school football team (alongside future presidential hopeful Cory Booker).
Read on for more information about Riddick’s career, net worth, and salary.
Louis Riddick earned his net worth across two decades in the NFL.
According to his ESPN bio, Riddick—a University of Pittsburgh grad—played seven NFL seasons between 1991 and 1998, serving as a safety for the San Francisco 49ers, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Cleveland Browns, and racking up 172 tackles and two sacks.
After his time on the gridiron, Riddick worked as a pro scout for the Washington Football Team before becoming director of pro personnel for the team in 2005. He then worked as a pro scout, assistant director of pro personnel, and director of personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles between 2008 and 2013.
Riddick joined ESPN in 2013 and made appearances on Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, NFL Live, SportsCenter, and ESPN Radio.In August 2020, ESPN announced that Riddick would join anchor Steve Levy and analyst Brian Griese in the Monday Night Football booth for the 2020–2021 season.
“Steve, Brian, and Louis are trusted voices of the NFL whose knowledge and love of football connects with fans,” Connor Schell, ESPN’s executive vice president of content, said in a statement at the time. “We are thrilled that they will join Lisa Salters to make up our new Monday Night Football team and share their passion and insight with football fans in what promises to be a great broadcast each week.”
Louis Riddick’s Monday Night Football salary made him a “cost-conscious” choice for ESPN.
Riddick’s Monday Night Football salary isn’t public knowledge, but Front Office Sports suggests that it’s below eight-figures. In April 2020, the site reported that a “cost-conscious” ESPN was looking internally for Monday Night Football talent—and eying Riddick specifically—because both ESPN and parent Disney had suffered financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“ESPN was ready to potentially throw eight-figure annual contracts at high-profile outsiders Tony Romo of CBS Sports and Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning to fill the MNF analyst chair,” Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy wrote. “But that was before live sports evaporated, taking their revenues with them.”
The site also reported that Riddick had narrowly lost the Monday Night Football analyst position to fellow NFL alum Booger McFarland in 2019.
Neither of those facts diminishes Riddick’s qualifications for the job. He has wanted the analyst position for a long time, which he discussed in a 2018 Sports Illustrated interview.
“This is something that has been a goal of mind and ESPN is very well aware that I am very interested in it,” Riddick told the magazine. “It is the pinnacle of broadcasting as far as I am concerned, the most iconic position in broadcasting.”