Trask said she had no plans to enter broadcasting until the idea was suggested to her by former NFL colleagues, friends in the sports media (she’s tight with Andrea Kremer of the NFL Network), and a broadcasting agent who contacted her after her resignation. The agent shopped her to a number of networks including ESPN. With CBS needing talent for a new pregame show– and Trask and CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus sharing a long working relationship — the fit worked. “She will talk about player personnel, and give her perspective on moves,” McManus said. “She may give her perspective on owners. Amy has never been shy and certainly did not work for a shy man. I think her role will evolve. She knows how a team works as well as anyone. Let’s see what she has to say.”
Trask said she plans on giving “honest, candid, forthright views on topics of interest to the viewer” and that CBS management has told the show’s staff that they do not have to stick to set topics. Said Trask: “Am I going to weigh in on X’s and O’s? You bet you, I might.”
Trask’s hire is significant because she will be the first female NFL analyst with significant management experience. She was the highest-ranking female executive of an NFL team and the only woman to be CEO of an NFL franchise. Traditional NFL broadcasting roles for women have been sideline reporting, hosting studio shows or feature reporting. Asked if she believed this to be a pioneering hire, Trask said, “I have gotten that question before and I stumbled and fumbled my way through it as I am apt to right now. I have approached my career in the following manner: I have done my job to the best of my ability without regard to my gender, My view has always been that if I don’t want my gender to be an issue, then I should not make my gender an issue. I have been asked about that issue before and I don’t do the best job answering the question because I have spent decades comporting myself without regard to gender.”