Monday Night Football

''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, ABC (select games), ESPN2 (" Manningcast" alternate broadcast) and ESPN+ in the United States.

From to , it aired on ABC before moving exclusively to ESPN, which remains the main channel for the broadcast. In it returned to ABC, in select simulcasts with ESPN, and beginning in will also feature select exclusive telecasts. ''Monday Night Football'' was, along with '' Hallmark Hall of Fame'' and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest-running prime time programs ever on commercial network television, and one of the highest-rated, particularly among male viewers. ''MNF'' is preceded on ESPN by '' Monday Night Countdown''.

''Monday Night Football'' is also broadcast in Canada on TSN and RDS, and in most of Europe. On September 7, 2013, the NFL announced that British Eurosport would show ''Monday Night Football'' games live in the United Kingdom for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. The telecasts are also seen in most of Australia on ESPN Australia, in Portugal on SportTV 3 and SportTV HD and on TV 2 Sport in Denmark, and in some other regions of the world outside the U.S. on ESPN International. A Spanish-language version airs on ESPN Deportes in the U.S. and on ESPN International in Latin America, while a Portuguese version airs on ESPN Brasil. Per an NFL broadcasting policy intended to allow those who do not subscribe to cable or satellite television to see games televised by a pay television network, the games are also made available on over-the-air television stations in each participating team's local market.

In 2011, ESPN extended its MNF contract for an additional eight seasons, giving it rights to the broadcasts until 2021. The new deal, valued around 15 billion, also gives ESPN rights to expanded highlights, international, and streaming rights. A new deal signed in 2021 sees ESPN retain these rights through 2033. Also included with the new deal are the rights to two Super Bowls in 2027 and 2031, the introduction of flexible scheduling, and two additional doubleheaders during the season, with one Sunday morning game on ESPN+.

Overview

After 53 seasons, there have been over 700 games televised by ''Monday Night Football''.

Scheduling problems

To avoid any scheduling unfairness where, just before the first playoff game, a team may have five days off and others six, and also to allow the league to have games with mutual playoff implications played at the same time, all games during the final week of the regular season are played on Sunday. As such, there is no Monday night game that week. From 2003 to 2005, one game was played on Thursday and another Monday under the ''Monday Night Football'' banner. Starting in 2006, when the series moved to cable, two games are played on the opening Monday night to capitalize on fan interest during " NFL Kickoff Weekend".

Monday night games early in the season are often highly anticipated since records are new, teams usually are showcasing fresh talent and potential, and storylines coming into the season are often played out as fans try to see if these hyped teams are up to form. Since no one knows during the first month of the season if a team is indeed good, or will rebound from a difficult start, interest is usually high for the first few weeks of the ''MNF'' season.

Since the ''MNF'' schedule is set in April and cannot be changed, the league and network cannot guarantee a late season matchup will have any significance or be highly anticipated. Teams thought to be postseason contenders during the off-season could be out of playoff contention by the middle of the season; a prime example occurred in 1999, when the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons both entered the season's final ''MNF'' game with 4–11 records. It had seemed like a good pre-season matchup since the Falcons had played in the previous season's Super Bowl and the 49ers coming into the 1999 season had posted 16 consecutive 10-win seasons. It is also possible for a team like the 1999 St. Louis Rams not to be scheduled for a Monday night game because of its dismal record the year before, and many other NFL teams (such as the 2004 San Diego Chargers and the 2008 Miami Dolphins, both with zero primetime games) have had huge unforeseen turnarounds that result in lack of ''MNF'' attention (these teams generally receive multiple ''MNF'' spots the year after their breakout success, which is great for viewers if those teams continue to play well, and not so great if they return to mediocrity or worse). However, the forecasting abilities of the NFL's scheduling officials have exhibited uncanny proficiency. Moreover, the gradual expansion of the postseason from four teams per 13-team conference in 1970 to seven per 16-team conference as of has ensured fewer teams are out of playoff contention late in the season. Most ''MNF'' games occurring later in the season feature at least one team that is headed to the playoffs, must win ( or at least tie) the ''MNF'' game to clinch a playoff spot and/or must win (or tie) the game to avoid elimination from postseason contention.

The problem of having a national spotlight game which during the season's most critical weeks late in the year probably would not show the most important game of the week was long known by the league and network. As a result of this, the NFL wished to move the "Game of the Week" idea to Sunday nights as to make flex scheduling possible. This was a move which would ultimately mean the end of ''Monday Night Football'' on ABC until 2020, when the network began simulcasting a small number of games each season. While the league had long stated that it had no interest in expanding flexible scheduling to include ''Monday Night Football'', the current broadcasting contract signed in 2021 does allow for it beginning in the 2023 season.

Franchises with the most appearances

The franchise with the most Monday night appearances is the Dallas Cowboys. The Pittsburgh Steelers got the all-time lead in most wins on November 28, 2022. They had 52 wins.

The most common ''Monday Night Football'' pairings are Broncos vs. Raiders (20 times as of ) and Commanders vs. Cowboys (17 match-ups as of ).

The defunct Candlestick Park in San Francisco currently holds the record for hosting the most ''Monday Night Football'' games, including its 36th and final Monday night game on December 23, 2013. Among the active stadiums following the conclusion of the 2017 season, Miami Gardens, Florida's Hard Rock Stadium has hosted the most games with 36.

Eight new NFL stadiums have made their regular season debuts on ''Monday Night Football''. Most recently, Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, hosted its first NFL game on September 21, 2020, when the Las Vegas Raiders defeated the New Orleans Saints 34–24 on ''Monday Night Football''.

Simulcasts on ABC

Beginning with the 2020 season, select ''Monday Night Football'' games have been simulcast on ABC under the branding ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC''. In the 2020 season, three games were simulcast. In the 2021 season, three ''Monday Night Football'' games and the new Week 18 Saturday doubleheader were simulcast. After ESPN renewed its ''Monday Night Football'' contract, it was revealed that these simulcasts would expand starting with the 2022 season. To accommodate the expanded simulcasts, ABC announced that '' Dancing with the Stars'' would move to Disney+ beginning with its 31st season.

As entertainment

''Monday Night Football'' has continued to provide as much entertainment as sports throughout its run. In addition to the extra cameras, the program has also pioneered technological broadcast innovations, such as the use of enhanced slow motion replays and computerized graphics.

Celebrity guests – such as former Vice President Spiro Agnew, singers Plácido Domingo and former Beatle John Lennon, President Bill Clinton, and even Kermit the Frog – were often featured during the game to "liven up" the broadcast. The December 9, contest featured a rare instance of two celebrities entering the booth, with Lennon being interviewed by Howard Cosell and California governor Ronald Reagan speaking with Frank Gifford, with Reagan explaining the rules of American football (off-camera) to Lennon as the game went along. However, the late 1990s and early 2000s saw an even more increased reliance on the entertainment factor. Some halftime shows, featuring popular music stars, were broadcast in their entirety rather than being ignored in favor of analysis of the game by the commentators, as in previous seasons.

On December 8, 1980, one of the most memorable moments of ''MNF'' occurred when Cosell announced in a news flash that John Lennon had been shot and killed in New York City. ''Monday Night Football'' was the first national broadcast to announce his death.

An ABC advertisement for ''MNF'' featuring Nicollette Sheridan of '' Desperate Housewives'' dropping her towel in front of Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens created some controversy, including at least 1,997 complaints being sent to the FCC and outrage from FCC chairman Michael Powell.

The Walt Disney Company, owner of ABC and the majority owner of ESPN, has used ''Monday Night Football'' to promote its other properties, releasing a trailer for the 2015 film '' Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' during one broadcast and incorporating The Muppets into another.

2000s

2006 summary

For its 2006 debut on ESPN, Williams Jr. re-recorded the ''MNF'' opening theme with an all-star jam band that included among others Brian Setzer, Little Richard, Questlove, Joe Perry, Clarence Clemons, Rick Nielsen, Bootsy Collins, Charlie Daniels, and Steven Van Zandt. The 2006 telecast generally began with a cinematic tease produced by Rico Labbe, Michael Sciallis, and Jason Jobes. It was during one of these teases that Barack Obama spoofed his announcement for the 2008 Presidential candidacy in favor of his hometown Chicago Bears in their game against the St. Louis Rams.

That year, the tease was followed by the show open produced by Los Angeles-based The Syndicate called "Transformation". It features computer-generated imagery showing a city being transformed into a football stadium and passers-by on the street turning into players, coaches, fans, and officials set to an updated orchestral treatment of the "Heavy Action" theme song. The sequence began every week with a different celebrity walking down the street, picking up a glowing football helmet with the ESPN logo on the side and saying, "I'm ready for some football! Are you?", thus beginning the transformation process. Celebrities for 2006 included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Matthew Fox, Hugh Hefner, Paris Hilton, Spike Lee, Ashton Kutcher, Samuel L. Jackson, Ludacris, Jack Black, Kiefer Sutherland, James Belushi, Ben Stiller, Tyra Banks, Carmen Electra, and Eva Longoria.

In addition, celebrities returned in full force to the booth, though this proved to be the major criticism of ESPN's first ''MNF'' season. On the opening weekend, Arnold Schwarzenegger, another celebrity-turned-California governor, was in the booth at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland, California; before that, Jamie Foxx appeared at FedExField in suburban Washington, D.C. Following them, celebrity appearances included NBA basketball superstar Dwyane Wade, Basketball Hall of Fame player Charles Barkley, NASCAR Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon, comedian Jimmy Kimmel (whose opening words to Joe Theismann were "how's the leg?"), actor Sylvester Stallone, film director Spike Lee, hip hop artist Jay-Z, and ''MNF'' theme singer Hank Williams Jr.

2007 summary

ESPN scaled back to only one opening tease for the 2007 season. Williams Jr. and the all-star band returned, only this time they played in a " juke joint" set on a country road. The lead singer arrives in a GMC Yukon truck (GMC paid for product placement) with the license plate "BOCEPHUS", which is Williams' nickname. The Syndicate's computer-generated tease was dropped and replaced by short pre-taped films focusing on a team or player in the game. Some of them have featured actor Jamie Foxx.

Joe Theismann did not return to the ''MNF'' booth after 1 season, and was replaced by Ron Jaworski.

The guest visits continued: Barkley returned to the booth on September 17 in Philadelphia. Other guests throughout the season included Kimmel (another returnee), Drew Carey, Miley Cyrus, Russell Crowe and Terry Bradshaw. In addition, Gordon was a halftime guest on the game just before the season-ending Ford 400 and was joined by teammate Jimmie Johnson.

At the end of each game, Williams returned to say, "See you in (city that is the site of the next week's game)." Both the open and close contain helmets of the participating teams, organized in the style of a concert poster.

2008 summary

Despite the de-emphasis on entertainment on the overall telecast, ESPN did bring back Hank Williams Jr. for his 20th season as part of the opening. This time, the opening sequence was set in a private residence. At the end of the song, Williams Jr. touched a foot pump, which supposedly contained the helmets of that night's participating teams. The helmets were launched from the home toward the stadium at which the game was held. Through computer-generated imagery, the helmets "land" at midfield during a live shot, and then explode. The "exploding helmets" gimmick was also used at various times in the 1980s and 1990s during the pre-game tease. Williams Jr. then appeared again at the end of the game to promote the next week's matchup.

ESPN also continued to promote upcoming albums through its use in bumper music. On September 29 (Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers), ESPN used " Another Way to Die", a duet between Alicia Keys and Jack White of the White Stripes – the song was part of the soundtrack for the 2008 film '' Quantum of Solace'', then the latest in the James Bond series.

''MNF'' celebrated its 600th game broadcast on October 20, 2008 in a game which the New England Patriots defeated the Denver Broncos, 41–7.

The 39th season of ''MNF'' ended on December 22, 2008, when the Chicago Bears beat the Green Bay Packers, 20–17, in overtime at home at Soldier Field in Chicago.

2009 summary

The title sequence for the 40th season of ''MNF'' featured Hank Williams Jr. seen on the steps of a building (presumably a museum), surrounded by dancers, football fans, and statues/busts – which, along with everyone else in the scene, begin to move and dance – patterned after those at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The transition to Williams Jr. is a book, with the chapter number (in Roman numerals, sequentially with each week) and a tag line about the game to be played that night.

At the end of the song, Williams Jr. plugged in the cords, thereby launching animated "helmets" into space, from the building toward the stadium at which the game was held (with the exception of October 5, 2009, when the helmets zoomed towards Brett Favre instead), passing the International Space Station. As with the previous season (as mentioned above), the helmets "land" at midfield during a live shot and then crashed into each other. Williams Jr. appeared again at the end of the telecast to promote the following week's matchup. After that, the picture was freezeframed and the shot zoomed out to the book, which showed the freezeframed picture as part of a page. As this happened, the NFL end-of-game bumper music was played and the book closed, revealing a golden NFL logo on the back cover and signifying the end of the "chapter", or game. The scene was filmed in the summer of 2009 at The Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee.

Before Williams Jr. appears, Frank Gifford gave a short vignette about a memorable moment in the history of ''MNF'' featuring one or both of the teams playing that night's game.

Tony Kornheiser did not return to the booth after 3 seasons and was replaced by former Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden.

The 40th season of ''MNF'' ended on December 28, 2009 with the Minnesota Vikings–Chicago Bears game in Chicago, in which the Bears won in overtime, 36–30. The telecast ended with a vignette that featured Gifford taking a look back at highlights from the previous four decades – and the 40th season – of ''MNF'', after which the book closed, signifying the end of the season. The 40th season had the highest season viewership for ''MNF'' since ESPN acquired the rights to the broadcast.

2010s

2010 summary

The opening for the 2010 season was identical to that used in 2009, except for the final scenes. This time, Williams Jr. turns a wheel filled with paint, with CGI colors blasting into the air, revealing the helmets containing logos of the participating teams – which stay on top of the building. In one other minor difference, the chapter numbers in the "book" were changed from Roman to Arabic numerals. Gifford provided new vignettes and the Parthenon scenes were repeated from the year before. The 2010 season marked Williams' 22nd as part of the telecast's open.

In an unusual coincidence, both games which had the New York Jets as a home team at New Meadowlands Stadium (now MetLife Stadium) were delayed because of heavy rain and lightning in the area. In the first instance, the September 13 game against the Baltimore Ravens, it was delayed 25 minutes; the second delay, prior to the October 11 contest against the Minnesota Vikings, lasted for 40 minutes. Prior to the September 13 game, the last ESPN telecast to encounter weather problems was on October 4, 1998 (a Sunday night) when lightning halted a game between the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs during the second quarter. The first delay forced ESPN to use ESPN2 for a game telecast, this time for the Chiefs' home opener against the San Diego Chargers. As in 2007, the broadcast was shifted to ESPN once the first game was over.

The game between the Jets and the Vikings was both Brett Favre's first game in East Rutherford since his only season there in 2008 and marked Randy Moss's return to the Vikings. Moss played only four games for Minnesota until he was waived on November 2.

2011 summary

The opening sequence for the 2011 season was set in a closed-studio setting, with Hank Williams Jr. (in his 23rd year) performing with a band with members such as Jimi K Bones from KIX and Blondie, The House Jacks, and Jenny Morrison (bass guitar), Chris King (trumpet), Clay Lucovich (trombone), and Florizel Dennis ( baritone saxophone) from Orlando, Florida ska band Tef London, in front of a live audience with large video screens in the background. The end of the opening sequence featured the team logos of that night's participants transitioning into the new ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' logo before going to a live shot. On October 3, 2011, ESPN pulled the theme song after Williams appeared on the Fox News Channel program, ''Fox & Friends'', where he compared a golf outing involving Barack Obama, John Boehner, Joe Biden and John Kasich to "Hitler playing golf with Netanyahu." On October 6, 2011, it was announced that Williams would no longer be singing the theme song, and that "All My Rowdy Friends" would no longer be used as its theme, as Williams still owns the song. A statement from ESPN said that the network has "decided to part ways with Hank Williams Jr. We appreciate his contributions over the past years. The success of ''MNF'' has always been about the games and that will continue." Williams commented on the matter: "After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made my decision... By pulling my opening October 3, SPNstepped on the toes of the First Amendment Freedom of Speech, so therefore me, my song, and ''All My Rowdy Friends'' are out of here. It's been a great run." ''MNF'' did not have an opening sequence at all from Week 4 through the end of that season.

With Suzy Kolber reassigned to the new studio show ''NFL32'', and Michele Tafoya having left ESPN for '' NBC Sunday Night Football'', the sideline reporter position rotated between various reporters for the season.

For the second year in a row, and the third time overall, the beginning of the 10:15 p.m. Eastern Time game (Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos) was shown on ESPN2 as the game that began at 7:00 pm. Eastern Time (New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins) ran past the scheduled time period.

2012 summary

Lisa Salters was named the permanent solo sideline reporter for the 2012 season. In addition, color commentator Ron Jaworski did not return to the booth after 5 seasons. As a result, Jon Gruden became the solo color commentator, with ''MNF'' going back to a two-man booth for the first time since its final season on ABC (2005). ''MNF''s opening graphic sequence, which showed the helmet logos of the game's two participating NFL teams and then the program's logo, was seen before the ''Monday Night Football Launch'' segment.

2013–14 summary

The opening animation sequence begins with an image of a 2014 GMC Sierra ( GMC paid for product placement) and then goes into a timeline of historical events that occurred during the ''Monday Night Football'' era, including some highlights of ''MNF'' games from the previous 43 seasons up to 2012. At the end of the sequence, helmets featuring logos of that night's two participating teams are shown, followed by the various ''Monday Night Football'' logos used since the program's debut in 1970. The 80-second opening animation sequence, which also featured Pac-Man, Darth Vader and President Ronald Reagan, was created by actor/filmmaker Peter Berg.

A revision of the opening sequence was used for the 2014 season. Among the few changes, GMC's product placement promoted the automaker's line of Denali vehicles, while the sequence itself included some additional highlights of ''MNF'' games from the previous 44 seasons up to 2013.

2015 summary

A 3D opening animation sequence is used for the 2015 season (46th season overall and tenth on ESPN). GMC's product placement once again promoted the automaker's line of Denali vehicles, including the Yukon Denali that is seen at the beginning. Also among the many changes is the highlights of ''MNF'' games – this time, they are set inside a computer-generated stadium using 3D imagery – from the previous 45 seasons up to 2014.

This was Mike Tirico's final season as the play-by-play announcer for ''MNF'', as he would join NBC Sports in June 2016.

2016 summary

After three years of using the timeline-themed open, ''MNF'' debuted a new 75-second, Hollywood-themed open on September 12, 2016, featuring ESPN's new ''MNF'' broadcast team – Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Jon Gruden (color) and Lisa Salters (sideline reporter) – and more than 20 active NFL stars and Pro Football Hall of Famers walking along a red carpet entrance lined by cheering fans and photographers taking pictures. It began with a shot of a downtown stadium surrounded by skyscrapers, with a 2017 GMC Acadia (product placement again provided by GMC) displaying the location for that week's ''MNF'' game on its navigation system. The Acadia then headed to a glitzy red carpet at the stadium's entrance, where McDonough, Gruden and Salters exit the car, followed on the carpet by a flood of NFL players representing the past and present of ''MNF''. Players then posed for pictures and wave to the crowd as they reach the stadium entrance. Josh Norman (Redskins), Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals) and Rob Gronkowski (Patriots) were among the current players being represented in the open, with Franco Harris (Steelers), Jerry Rice (49ers), Barry Sanders (Lions) and Bruce Smith (Bills) among the past players being represented.

For the Spanish-language version of the Hollywood-themed open, it featured ESPN's Spanish-language ''MNF'' broadcast team – Álvaro Martín (play-by-play), Raúl Allegre (color) and John Sutcliffe (sideline reporter) as well as the current Hispanic NFL players and the team of the Latin American version of ''NFL Live'' led by Ciro Procuna.

2017 summary

''MNF'' returned to two teases for the first time since its first season on ESPN (2006). The Hollywood-themed open was repeated from the previous season, this time with the 2018 GMC Terrain being used as the automaker's product placement.

Also, Hank Williams Jr. returned to ''MNF'' on September 11, 2017 with an all-new version of the iconic opening theme song, "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night" (used from 1989 to Week 3 of the 2011 season) and it appeared just before that night's New Orleans Saints-Minnesota Vikings game. The new version, which is seen just before the kickoff of each game, is a collaboration of Williams Jr., country duo Florida Georgia Line, and R&B singer Jason Derulo.

The second game of the Week 1 ''MNF'' doubleheader between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos saw Beth Mowins become the first woman to call a nationally televised NFL game.

2018 summary

2018 brought in a shakeup of the booth. Jon Gruden left ''MNF'' after 9 seasons and returned to coaching with the Oakland Raiders and was replaced by Jason Witten, formerly a tight end for the Dallas Cowboys. Sean McDonough and Joe Tessitore traded places, with McDonough taking Tessitore's place in the college booth, and Tessitore taking McDonough's place in the ''MNF'' booth. In addition, Booger McFarland, who has been a college football analyst for the network since 2014, joined the ''MNF'' team as field analyst and consultant. Finally, rules analyst Gerald Austin left ''MNF'' to work as an adviser to Gruden and the Raiders and was replaced by recently retired referee Jeff Triplette. Lisa Salters remained the sideline reporter.

Also, ESPN once again scaled back to only one opening tease for the 2018 season, as the Hollywood-themed open was dropped after two seasons. "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night" featuring country music legend Hank Williams Jr., country music duo Florida-Georgia Line and R&B singer Jason Derulo returned from the previous season and is once again seen just before the opening kickoff. Due to the Thousand Oaks shooting, and the then-ongoing Northern California wildfires, the opening intro was not shown during the November 12 broadcast between Pro Bowl wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. and the New York Giants and Super Bowl-winning cornerback Richard Sherman and the San Francisco 49ers and also, the historic Kansas City Chiefs-Los Angeles Rams game the following week (November 19). In the case of the latter, it was originally scheduled to be played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, but was moved to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (the Rams' home stadium at the time, which itself last hosted a ''Monday Night Football'' game in 1985) due to the poor field conditions at the former. The game would be the highest scoring game in ''MNF'' history, with the Rams defeating the Chiefs by a score of 54–51.

In addition, ESPN also added musical performances during the halftime segment, branded as the ''Genesis Halftime Show'' as part of a sponsorship deal. These performances typically aired at the end of the commercial-free halftime segments and, with the expectation of the Chiefs-Rams game in which there was a live performance, were typically prerecorded in various locations, usually around the city where that week's ''MNF'' game took place.

2019 summary

ESPN underwent another broadcast booth shakeup, as Jason Witten left to return to the Dallas Cowboys, and rules analyst Jeff Triplette left after one season. Triplette was replaced with John Parry, who retired after Super Bowl LIII. Witten was not replaced, therefore making the 2019 broadcast team consist of Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Booger McFarland (color commentator) and Lisa Salters (sideline reporter).

The network also brought back Hank Williams Jr. to perform "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night", which for the first time since 2011, he performed solo, as Florida Georgia Line and Jason Derulo all departed after two seasons. The intro to ''Monday Night Football'' also celebrated the 50th season of the program with NFL Legends and Hall of Famers or current NFL players (Texans' J. J. Watt for the Playoffs) saying "Are you ready for some football?" before Williams Jr. begins playing.

The ''Genesis Halftime Show'' returned for another season and continued to feature prerecorded musical performances; however they were later dropped on October 28 due to poor reception from viewers and was replaced with additional game analysis although Genesis continued to sponsor the halftime show for the remainder of the season.

2020s

2020 summary

After poor reviews and major criticism, the 2020 season saw another major revamp to ESPN's booth, with Steve Levy, Brian Griese, and Louis Riddick, who called one of ESPN’s opening week doubleheader games the year before, replacing Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland. McFarland, however, would switch places with Riddick, taking over in the studio. ESPN/ABC's lead college football commentary team of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, and Maria Taylor called the first game of the Week 1 doubleheader (as Fowler and Taylor were already in the New York area handling the US Open (Fowler) and the NBA Playoffs (Taylor) respectively). Fowler and Herbstreit were considered as the new MNF booth, if the 2020 college football season were to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To formally celebrate the 50th anniversary of ''Monday Night Football'', the Las Vegas Raiders' Week 2 home opener (their first after relocating from Oakland) was simulcast by ABC. The game also featured a special Monday Night Megacast, hosted by Rece Davis and Herbstreit. This alternate broadcast aired on ESPN2, the first time it had aired an NFL game in its entirety. The Hank Williams Jr. ''MNF'' theme was once again dropped, being replaced by a cover of Little Richard's " Rip It Up" by Virginia-based band Butcher Brown.

As the game was postponed to October 12 due to a player testing positive for COVID-19, the Week 5 game between the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots was reassigned to ESPN as the first half of a rare in-season ''MNF'' doubleheader, with the game scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. ET kickoff. Fowler and Herbstreit were slated to return and call the game. This time, they would have been joined by Laura Rutledge, host of ''NFL Live'' and ''SEC Nation'' on SEC Network. However, the game was ultimately postponed to the following Sunday as a Week 6 game due to further positive tests. Rutledge would eventually fill in for Lisa Salters during the Week 16 ''MNF'' game in Foxborough, as Salters had been following ESPN's COVID-19 protocols.

ESPN announced on November 30 that two December Monday night games, both involving the Buffalo Bills, would be simulcast on ABC. Also announced on November 30 was the debut of the NFL Playoff Megacast, which featured alternate feeds of the Baltimore Ravens-Tennessee Titans matchup on ESPN2, ESPN+, and Freeform.

The December 21 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals featured the Muppets and was themed as "Muppet Night Football." In the opening broadcast of the game, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy served as announcers from the booth while Fozzie Bear reported from the sidelines. After their appearance in the opening broadcast, the Muppets soon re-appeared with Rowlf the Dog, Scooter, Gonzo, Animal, Beaker, the Swedish Chef and others singing a football-themed rendition " Carol of the Bells". As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the segments involving the Muppets were shot with puppeteers in front of a green screen at home.

2021 summary

For the first time since 2005, there was no season-opening doubleheader as the opening game of ''Monday Night Football''s 52nd season consisted only of the Baltimore Ravens- Las Vegas Raiders matchup, which was aired on ESPN and simulcast on ABC, ESPN2, and ESPN+, as part of the network’s Megacast series. Also, Butcher Brown's cover of Little Richard's "Rip it Up" returned for the second consecutive year as the intro theme for ''MNF''.

Like last season, two late-season games, both being NFC rivalries, were simulcast on ABC, as well as ESPN+. ABC and ESPN+ also simulcast the first ever Week 18 Saturday Doubleheader, a new addition to ESPN’s schedule, which was part of the NFL expanding their regular season from 16 to 17 games, and to accommodate ESPN’s new NFL media rights deal, which includes the Saturday Doubleheader, a Sunday International game for ESPN+ subscribers, more games on ABC, a Divisional playoff game, and Super Bowls LXI and LXV on ABC, along with rights for ESPN+ to simulcast every ESPN/ABC game, accommodate select games with alternate broadcasts, and flex scheduling beginning in 2023.

On July 19, ESPN announced an agreement with Omaha Productions, the production company of Peyton Manning, to produce alternate telecasts of ''Monday Night Football'' with Manning, his brother Eli, and guest celebrities for ten games each season on ESPN2 and ESPN+, from 2021 through 2023. The Manningcast would also be a part of ESPN’s first ever Monday Night Super Wild Card Megacast, which had alternate broadcasts of the game on ESPN2 and ESPN+, to accommodate the main broadcast on ESPN, ABC, and ESPN+. The success of the Manningcast’s first season would lead to ESPN adding an extra year to their deal with Omaha Productions in the offseason.

2022 summary

This season, ESPN will be working under a new bridge deal to transition themselves into the next television contract. The 2022 season will see ESPN+ add a Sunday International game, an exclusive ''MNF'' game on ABC, and the continuation of the Week 18 Saturday Doubleheader. ESPN made a colossal change to the ''MNF'' booth, the fourth change since 2015, when the network hired Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, who were Fox's lead commentary team for the past 20 seasons, as the new announcers for ''MNF'', replacing Levy, Griese (who eventually left ESPN to become the new quarterbacks coach of the San Francisco 49ers), and Riddick. Levy and Riddick will continue to call doubleheaders as the #2 team, with Dan Orlovsky replacing Griese and Laura Rutledge serving as that team's sideline reporter.

Butcher Brown's cover of "Rip it Up" did not return as the intro theme for MNF. Instead, a remix of "Heavy Action" was used, produced by EDM producer and DJ Marshmello.

Theme music

Hank Williams Jr. reworked his country music hit "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight" to be included in the telecast's introduction as "All My Rowdy Friends Are Here on Monday Night" (the original introduction music was an organ-based piece called "Score", written by Charles Fox and recorded by Bob's Band). In addition, Edd Kalehoff modernized the classic " Heavy Action" theme in 1989.

For ABC's last ''MNF'' game in 2005, Williams Jr.'s rendition of " Turn Out the Lights, The Party's Over", closed the broadcast.

In 2018, ESPN brought back the classic "Heavy Action" theme as the main theme song for ''Monday Night Football''.

In 2020, ESPN replaced Hank Williams Jr.'s ''MNF'' theme with a cover of Little Richard's " Rip It Up" by Virginia-based band Butcher Brown for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. For the 2021–22 season, the theme sometimes played in reverse.

In 2022, ESPN added the remixed version of "Heavy Action" as the intro theme for ''MNF'' as a replacement for Butcher Brown's ''Rip It Up''; the aforementioned original version of "Heavy Action" is still being used as the main theme.

Digital on-screen graphics

Prior to 1997, ''Monday Night Football'' had a limited graphics package. A CGI-based intro began being used in 1984, with on-screen graphics still limited to basic text. In 1988, the entire graphics package was updated significantly to be more in line with the rest of ABC Sports' presentations. That year, it introduced the "clashing helmets" intro, with on-screen graphics consisting of italicized text underlined in red. It was updated in 1994, the year the network hosted Super Bowl XXIX, with a more box-like design. A permanent score bug would not be introduced until 1997.

1997–2005

''Monday Night Football'' began using a score bug in 1997, the second network to do so after Fox introduced the first regular on-screen scoring bug when it began airing NFL games in 1994. Prior to this, the graphics package was limited, but followed a basic "ketchup and mustard" color scheme of red and yellow. The first scorebug included team names, scores, time remaining, and displayed which quarter the game was in. This design was used through the 1998 season.

ABC hosted Super Bowl XXXIV for 1999, and updated its graphics package to more closely resemble those of sister cable network ESPN. ABC began using extended abbreviations for team names (for example, "TENN", " VIKES", "PACK", and " FINS" instead of "TEN", "MIN", "GB", and "MIA"), as four-letter and five-letter abbreviations were used on ESPN coverage. The result was a larger scorebug with a more conventional font. It was slightly modified in 2000 to have a border that was more in line with the red and yellow color scheme.

The graphics for ''Monday Night Football'' were changed in the 2002 season, the year the network hosted Super Bowl XXXVII. The scorebug was a solid color, with a more rounded shape, and a horizontally compressed font. ESPN's graphics were no longer similar to those of ABC's (with ESPN instead using a gray and black design with rounded corners). In 2005, the broadcast's final year on ABC, ''Monday Night Football'' began using a horizontal bar on the bottom of the screen rather than a scorebug, with all information being contained on a single line.

2006–present

After ''MNF'' moved to ESPN in 2006 (around the same time that ABC Sports rebranded as ESPN on ABC), ESPN adopted new red and black graphics with heavier use of 3D elements and animations. These graphics would be subsequently implemented as a standard appearance for most major ESPN properties (including college football, the NBA, Major League Baseball, and NASCAR among others). For ''MNF'', a "pod" scoreboard at the bottom-center of the screen was used.

For the 2008 season, a new graphics scheme was introduced, in which a scorebar and all lower thirds were confined to a dedicated "dashboard" area spanning across the bottom the screen. Lower third graphics replaced the scorebar when in use. For 2009, an updated metallic silver design was introduced, dropping the "dashboard". The scheme would, again, be adopted by other major ESPN properties. In the 2011 season, ''MNF'' introduced a dedicated graphics package with a red and black metallic design and larger scoreboard, as well as a redesigned ''MNF'' shield logo.

For the 2015 season, ESPN introduced another overhaul of its ''MNF'' graphics, with a new scoreboard spanning the bottom of the screen, capable of being faded away when plays are in progress. This design persisted through 2018, although with amendments in its final season (including a different, italicized font for the scoreboard and downs indicator, and the downs indicator now resembling an arrow, and alternating sides of the screen with the ESPN logo depending on the direction of play).

In 2019, ESPN introduced a new graphics scheme its NFL programming (modeled upon branding used for the NFL Draft since 2018), incorporating refreshed logos, and a color scheme featuring black, white, and a lime color referred to internally as "venom". The ''MNF'' scoreboard retained a similar layout to before, but with new fonts and only showing team logos.

During the first game of ESPN's opening doubleheader, the network faced criticism from viewers for coloring the downage indicator on its scoreboard in the aforementioned "venom" color, which could be confused for a graphic indicating a penalty (typically colored in yellow to match the penalty flag; the flag graphic used a black rectangle with a venom-colored border and text). In response to the criticism, ESPN producers modified the graphic over halftime, changing the indicator to use a white, light-on-dark color scheme instead. ''Chicago Tribune'' media writer Phil Rosenthal described the briefly-used graphic as a "fluorescent-highlighter fever dream", and felt that "the quickness with which ESPN abandoned this unnecessary bit of flash probably speaks more to how misguided this latest supposed 'innovation' was than any increased sensitivity to the twitterati." Despite the previous incident, ESPN faced similar criticism in January 2021 during the College Football Playoff semi-finals, where it used a gold-textured downs indicator.

Scoring records

* Most points
** 59 – Philadelphia Eagles, November 15, vs. Washington Redskins
** 55 – Indianapolis Colts, October 31, vs. Denver Broncos
** 54 – Los Angeles Rams, November 19, vs. Kansas City Chiefs
** 52 – San Francisco 49ers, December 23, vs. Chicago Bears
** 51 – New Orleans Saints, November 24, vs. Green Bay Packers
** 51 – Kansas City Chiefs, November 19, vs. Los Angeles Rams (most points scored by a losing team)
** 50 – San Diego Chargers, December 20, vs. Cincinnati Bengals
** 49 – Philadelphia Eagles, November 15, vs. Dallas Cowboys
** 49 – Kansas City Chiefs, December 13, vs. Tennessee Titans
** 48 – Detroit Lions, October 19, vs. Chicago Bears
** 48 – Green Bay Packers, October 17, vs. Washington Redskins
** 48 – Tennessee Titans, October 11, vs. Green Bay Packers
** 48 – Baltimore Ravens, December 19, vs. Green Bay Packers
** 48 – New York Jets, September 10, vs. Detroit Lions
* Most one-sided games
** 45 points – Baltimore 48, Green Bay 3 – December 19,
** 42 points – Miami 45, N.Y. Jets 3 – November 24,
** 42 points – Seattle 42, Philadelphia 0 – December 5, (largest margin of victory by an MNF road team)
** 42 points – New England 45, N.Y. Jets 3 – December 6,
** 41 points – San Francisco 41, Chicago 0 – December 14,
** 39 points – Los Angeles 42, Philadelphia 3 – November 3,
** 39 points – Baltimore 45, L.A. Rams 6 – November 25,
** 38 points – Green Bay 45, Minnesota 7 – November 14,
** 38 points – San Francisco 52, Chicago 14 – December 23,
** 38 points – San Francisco 41, Atlanta 3 – November 9,
** 38 points – St. Louis 38, Dallas 0 – November 16,
* Highest scoring games
** 105 points – L.A. Rams 54, Kansas City 51 – November 19,
** 95 points – Green Bay 48, Washington 47 – October 17,
** 89 points – Baltimore 47, Cleveland 42 – December 14,
** 87 points – Kansas City 49, Tennessee 38 – December 13,
** 87 points – Philadelphia 59, Washington 28 – November 15,
** 86 points – San Diego 52, Cincinnati 34 – December 20,
** 82 points – Dallas 43, Seattle 39 – December 6,
** 80 points – New Orleans