Rich Eisen was born in Brooklyn and raised on Staten Island, New York. After earning a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in 1990, he worked as a sports writer for the Staten Island Advance and Chicago Tribune. He later earned a master’s in journalism, after which he worked as a TV anchor at KRCR before joining ESPN.

At ESPN, Eisen became one of SportsCenter‘s top anchors, forming an iconic pairing with the late Stuart Scott. In 2003, he became the first on-air talent hired by the newly launched NFL Network, where he has since anchored NFL GameDay Morning. He has also hosted the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and covered the NFL Draft, Super Bowl, and Scouting Combine. 

Rich Eisen is also famous for launching The Rich Eisen Show, a daily sports and pop culture talk show. The program moved across multiple platforms — from Audience to Peacock to Roku — before landing at ESPN Radio and Disney+ in September 2025. In the past, Eisen has hosted major events for networks such as CBS Sports and various Olympic Games platforms.