- ESPNU & NFL Network join ESPN, ABC, Disney+, ESPN2 & ESPN Deportes in carrying Super Bowl LXI
- Monday Night Football Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show makes its NFL debut on MNF in Week 6 on ESPN2
- MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats returns to MNF in Week 5 on NFL Network
ESPN, in conjunction with the NFL, is providing fans more options and platforms to watch Super Bowl LXI with the additions of Super Bowl LXI Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show and Super Bowl LXI Playbook with Next Gen Stats.The new alternate viewing options are additive to the traditional telecast with Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge on ESPN, ABC and Disney+ and join the previously announced Super Bowl LXI with Peyton and Eli alternate cast on ESPN2. Super Bowl LXI Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show will air on ESPNU, while Super Bowl LXI Playbook with Next Gen Stats will air on NFL Network. ESPN’s Spanish-language telecast is also available on Disney+ and ESPN Deportes, with a separate Spanish-language presentation also available on Univision.
In the lead up to their Super Bowl editions, both newly announced alternate casts will join Monday Night Football in select weeks and ESPN’s Week 18 Doubleheader Saturday. Airing on ESPN2 for all non-Super Bowl editions, Monday Night FootballField Pass with The Pat McAfee Show will debut in Week 6 for Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers, the first of five Monday Night Football editions. On NFL Network, MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats begins a week earlier, in Week 5, for Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams, its first of seven Monday editions, including a presentation in either Week 16 or 17 of Monday Night Football.
Monday Night FootballField Pass with The Pat McAfee Show will conclude its six-episode regular season in primetime during Week 18 (January 9), while MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats will air both games that week (4:30 and 8 p.m. ET), as the analytics-driven telecast features nine regular season episodes.
With Pat McAfee’s addition — alongside the existing Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli schedule — ESPN2 will now air Monday Night Football for each of the 13 remaining weeks this season, and in seven of those weeks, Monday Night Football will have alternate casts on both ESPN2 and NFL Network.
Monday Night Football Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show makes its NFL debut for Super Bowl LXI season
Monday Night FootballField Pass with The Pat McAfee Show expands to the NFL for the first time, bringing its high-energy, free-flowing commentary and sideline-driven approach. McAfee, who remains in his customary field level position, will be stationed behind an endzone each week with Dan Orlovsky and Darius Butler, while the trio will be joined by Connor Campbell, Ty Schmit and Tone Digs stationed in an in-stadium suite.
McAfee-led alt casts have appeared outside of the NFL since its 2022 debut, with numerous editions averaging over 1 million viewers and its most watched at 2.4 million viewers.
2026-27 NFL on ESPN – Monday Night Football Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show
| Week | Date | Matchup | Where to watch |
| 6 | Mon, Oct 19 | Monday Night Football Commanders at 49ers | ESPN2 |
| 9 | Mon, Nov 9 | Monday Night Football Bills at Vikings | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Mon, Nov 30 | Monday Night Football Panthers at Buccaneers | ESPN2 |
| 14 | Mon, Dec 14 | Monday Night Football Steelers at Jaguars | ESPN2 |
| 16 | Mon, Dec 28 | Monday Night Football Giants at Lions | ESPN2 |
| 18 | Sat, Jan 9 | Doubleheader Saturday (8 p.m.) TBD at TBD | ESPN2 |
| Super Bowl LXI | Sun, Feb 14 | Super Bowl LXI | ESPNU |
*All available on the ESPN App for Unlimited plan subscribers
MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats returns with expanded innovation & insight
MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, ESPN’s data and analytics-driven Monday Night Football alternate cast, returns for 2026 with expanded offerings. Having debuted in Week 16 last season and continuing for four additional episodes through the Divisional Round, the innovative presentation received great fan acclaim and provided a deeper way to engage with the X’s and O’s through unprecedented, real-time data, powered by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats and enhanced visual technology.
Innovation remains at the core of every MNF Playbook presentation. Some of the highlights this season include:
- AI-powered predictive analytics, built on the NFL’s Next Gen Stats tracking data, deliver real-time personnel and formation reads on the scoreboard, plus live augmented reality overlays that display dynamic run-pass, blitz and target probabilities directly on the field as the play unfolds.
- AR enhanced replays incorporate Next Gen Stats, delivering anadded layer of visualization and analysis.
- Wide game camera framing keeps the entire secondary and all the essential action in view, giving fans a fuller picture of the strategy unfolding on the field.
- Automated real-time commentator-ID technology returns — which debuted on MNF Playbook last season and has since expanded across ESPN coverage.
Field Yates, Chase Daniel, Louis Riddick and Seth Walder open the 2026 season for MNF Playbook with a rotating team throughout the season — bringing the benefit of all these advanced tools directly to fans with analytics-focused commentary. The team for Super Bowl LXI Playbook with Next Gen Stats will be announced at a later date.
2026-27 NFL on ESPN – MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats
| Week | Date | Matchup | Where to watch |
| 5 | Mon, Oct 12 | Monday Night Football Bills at Rams | NFL Network |
| 6 | Mon, Oct 19 | Monday Night Football Commanders at 49ers | NFL Network |
| 7 | Mon, Oct 26 | Monday Night Football Cowboys at Eagles | NFL Network |
| 9 | Mon, Nov 9 | Monday Night Football Bills at Vikings | NFL Network |
| 13 | Mon, Dec 7 | Monday Night Football Cowboys at Seahawks | NFL Network |
| 15 | Mon, Dec 21 | Monday Night Football Patriots at Chiefs | NFL Network |
| 16 or 17 | Mon, Dec 28 | Monday Night Football Giants at Lions | NFL Network |
| Mon, Jan 4 | Monday Night Football Texans at Packers | ||
| 18 | Sat, Jan 9 | Doubleheader Saturday 4:30 p.m.: TBD at TBD | NFL Network |
| Doubleheader Saturday 8 p.m.: TBD at TBD | NFL Network | ||
| Super Bowl LXI | Sun, Feb 14 | Super Bowl LXI | NFL Network |
*All available on the ESPN App for Unlimited plan subscribers
*MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats on NFL Network will air in Week 16 or 17 of Monday Night Football, announced at a later date
2026-27 NFL on ESPN – Road to Super Bowl LXI
The addition of these special presentations further complements ESPN’s largest NFL game portfolio ever, spanning Monday Night Football, a slate of NFL Network broadcasts, the Week 18 Doubleheader Saturday and a Wild Card and Divisional Round playoff game on the road to Super Bowl LXI.