ESPN has lined up a large roster of talent for the 2026 NFL season, with some of the biggest names in NFL coverage leading the network’s NFL broadcasts. However, a lot of the network’s reporting, analysis, and studio hosting will come from women who have built their careers around the NFL.
From Monday Night Football sideline reporting to NFL Live’s desk and NFL Nation reporters embedded with individual teams, ESPN has a large talent pool of women covering the NFL in 2026.
Here’s a look at all the female hosts, analysts, and reporters covering the NFL on ESPN in 2026, and what each of them does:
1. Lisa Salters
Alisia “Lisa” Salters is a former college basketball player-turned-journalist who has worked for ESPN and ABC since 2000. She is a long-serving sideline reporter for ESPN’s marquee Monday Night Football (MNF) broadcast team and is one of the top women covering the NFL for the network in 2026.
Salters began her career as a general assignment reporter for WBAL-TV and later worked as a correspondent for ABC affiliate NewsOne. As a broadcast journalist, she covered several stories, including the Oklahoma City bombing trials, the O.J. Simpson trial, and the TWA Flight 800 crash.
She then joined ESPN and ABC in 2000, where she worked as a general assignment reporter and later as a sideline reporter for ABC’s Saturday Night Football. ESPN named her as the sideline reporter for MNF in 2012, and she is currently the longest-running sideline reporter in the broadcast’s history.
2. Laura Rutledge
Laura Rutledge is a TV host and reporter for ESPN and the SEC Network, currently serving as a sideline reporter for Monday Night Football. She is famous for her coverage of the NFL and college football, and is one of the prominent women covering the NFL on ESPN in 2026.
A former pageant queen, Rutledge began her career as a sideline reporter for Fox Sports, and later worked for CNN and HLN. She then joined ESPN and the SEC Network in 2014, and has since served in several roles, including hosting SEC Nation, anchoring SportsCenter, and hosting NFL Live.
Rutledge has also hosted major ESPN live events, including the ESPYs and College Football Awards. Additionally, she has contributed to live coverage of several sports programs across college football, basketball, baseball, softball, women’s college sports, and, as of 2024, golf.
3. Mina Kimes
Mina Kimes is an American journalist best known for her work covering business and sports events. She currently serves as an analyst on NFL Live, making her one of the top ESPN female NFL analysts covering the 2026 NFL season.
Kimes began her career as a business journalist for Fortune Small Business Magazine before joining Bloomberg News in 2013, where she worked as an investigative reporter. She then joined ESPN in 2014 and has worked for the network as a writer, co-hosted The Morning Roast on ESPN Radio, and hosted the ESPN Daily podcast.
In 2020, ESPN named her an analyst, primarily covering NFL Live. She also offers football analysis for other ESPN programs, including SportsCenter, Get Up, and First Take, in addition to hosting The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny podcast.
4. Michelle Beisner-Buck
Michelle Beisner-Buck is an American reporter who has worked as a features reporter for ESPN since 2014. She currently does player profiles and NFL feature stories for Monday Night Countdown and Sunday NFL Countdown.
Before becoming a journalist, Beisner-Buck was a professional actor and dancer who spent six seasons as a cheerleader for the Denver Broncos. She then transitioned to broadcasting and worked for several networks, including Fox Sports, NBC, Speed Channel, and CBS.
Between 2006 and 2014, she worked as a field reporter and studio host for NFL Network. She hosted NFL Network Now and NFL Weekly Countdown and contributed to various programs, including NFL GameDay Morning and NFL Total Access.
5. Molly McGrath
Molly McGrath is an ESPN studio host and sideline reporter, and one of the prominent women covering the NFL on ESPN. She was promoted to the position of NFL sideline reporter on Monday Night Football in July 2026, and will make her debut during the 2026 NFL season.
McGrath, who joined ESPN in 2016, previously served as a sideline reporter for college football games and co-host of College Football Live. She also covered college basketball and occasionally hosted other ESPN programs, including Vibe Check and SportsCenter.
Before joining ESPN, she worked for Fox Sports as an anchor and sideline reporter for college football, college basketball, and NFL on Fox. She has also worked as a host for Comcast SportsNet New England and the Boston Celtics, and for ESPN (first stint) as a production assistant.
6. Sarah Barshop
Sarah Barshop is an American sports journalist who has served as the Los Angeles Rams reporter for NFL Nation since 2022. She provides year-round coverage of the Rams across several ESPN platforms, including NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, and ESPN.com.
Barshop joined ESPN in 2016 and had previously spent five years covering the Houston Texans before becoming the Rams Reporter.
Before ESPN, she worked for Sports Illustrated, where she wrote and edited stories for SI Wire. She also served as the Green Bay Packers reporter for ESPNWisconsin.com and briefly worked as a promotions coordinator for ESPN Milwaukee.
7. Kimberley A. Martin
Kimberly A. Martin is one of the most prominent ESPN female NFL reporters, with over a decade of experience covering the National Football League.
She joined ESPN in 2020 as a national NFL reporter. Since then, she has served as a reporter, writer, and analyst across several programs, including NFL Live, First Take, Get Up, SportsCenter, Sunday NFL Countdown, ESPN Radio, and ESPN.com.
Before ESPN, Martin worked for Yahoo Sports as a senior NFL reporter and columnist. She has also worked for The Washington Post as a Redskins beat writer, The Buffalo News as a sports columnist, and Newsday Media Group as a New York Jets beat writer, among others.
8. Alaina Getzenberg
Alaina Getzenberg is a journalist who has served as the Buffalo Bills beat reporter for NFL Nation since joining ESPN in 2021. She provides daily coverage of the NFL team on ESPN.com, with occasional appearances on other platforms, including SportsCenter, other NFL shows, and ESPN Radio.
Before joining ESPN, Getzenberg worked for The Charlotte Observer as a Panthers beat reporter. She also worked as a sports producer for The Dallas Morning News and a researcher for CBS Sports.
Getzenberg also worked for MLB.com as a beat reporter, covering the St. Louis Cardinals during the 2017 season.
9. Courtney Cronin
Courtery Cronin is one of the top female reporters covering the NFL on ESPN. She currently serves as an NFL Nation reporter, providing news coverage and analysis for the Chicago Bears on ESPN.com.
Cronin also makes regular appearances on ESPN 1000 in Chicago as a Bears’ insider. Additionally, she is an ESPN Radio national host and a regular presence on various ESPN TV programs, including First Take, SportsCenter, and Around the Horn.
Courtney Cronin joined ESPN in 2017, initially serving as a Minnesota Vikings beat reporter before assuming the Bears role. Before that, she worked as a sports reporter for The Mercury News in San Fransico.