For Todd McShay, the work is the same. The delivery, the execution. That’s what has changed since the 48-year-old was part of ESPN’s massive round of talent layoffs in the middle of 2023 and joined The Ringer and Spotify last fall.
On ‘The Todd McShay Show,’ compared to his television analysis on ESPN (his employer for 17 years), McShay realizes that people are watching on YouTube or listening via their application of choice on their own volition. If someone is going to take that time, or subscribe to his newsletter – where he releases his mock drafts now, far from the webpages of the ‘Worldwide Leader’ – McShay wants to make it worth it.
“For a large portion of my career, it was so critical, like ‘the mock draft.’ Now with the show, with the podcast, it’s being able to get a lot of information – as I always have – to try to speak with certainty of ‘What are the conversations going on in the room?’’ McShay said. ‘‘Who are the players that teams are internally struggling with?’”
McShay enjoys digging into the medical reports and character concerns. A level deeper, he wants to know how those conversations vary team to team.
“Just trying to be able to present as much of the real information going on inside rooms to our audience, without obviously revealing too much and maintaining these sources and friendships and relationships,” McShay said.
Looking back at ESPN, the biggest difference from then to now is how much of an emphasis there was on what would happen before the draft. A player is discussed for four months and then he’s picked. A team and their options are discussed for four months and then it’s over. Onto the next.
“There wasn’t enough of a review compared to what the preview was,” McShay said.
He wants listeners ‘for the first time to think it’s been equal parts review.’
At this point in the process, speaking to USA TODAY Sports nine days before the first round of the 2025 NFL draft, he’s largely fine-tuning his work from the last 11 months. Cutting out the fat.
This year had a different rhythm to it because of the late start. He didn’t launch at The Ringer until late October. The first part of fall was spent putting together a production team.
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Still, the process has remained largely the same over the years, McShay said. He’s protective of his evaluation time.
Life after ESPN has meant a better work-life balance. The logistics behind travel every week as a sideline reporter became tiring.
Speaking of the past – on his new show, he banters with Steve Muench, a friend since college who was a teammate at ESPN.
“I can’t respect him any more,’ McShay said. ‘He worked kind of in my shadows and is finally getting an opportunity to show his knowledge.”
McShay was complimentary of the behind-the-scenes people at Spotify who aid in the technical side of his production.
“Honestly, I couldn’t be supported better,’ McShay said. ‘I feel like we’re just scratching the surface in terms of what we can do. I did not expect it to feel like home and to feel this natural and ‘Man, I wish I was doing it this way for a long time’ because it feels right.”