ESPN Announces Major NFL Collaboration With Drake

ESPN is getting help from Drake this NFL season. On Tuesday, ESPN announced that Billboard's Artist of the Decade will work with the network to curate music for select Monday Night Football games. ESPN will work with Drake to choose music that sets the mood for the select games. The music will come from Drake's most recent releases and possibly some of his classics. There will also be new music from artists Dake identifies, and the songs will run on Monday Night Football promotional spots, live telecasts and pre-game shows. The collaboration will be for 10 games, starting this Monday. 

"Now we are here…the kickoff of the football season. And who better to curate music for Monday Night Football than Drake who sits firmly at the intersection of music and sports. We couldn't be more excited for this upcoming collaboration," said Emeka Ofodile, Vice President of Sports Marketing, ESPN. "The music curator role has been a big hit with our fans with Diplo and DJ Khaled in previous years….and this season, we will be living inside the moment with Drake as our NFL on ESPN soundtrack."  

Drake, 34, is one of the most successful hip-hop and r&b artists of all time. Along with being named Artists of the Decade by Billboard, Drake has won  27 Billboard Music Awards and four Grammy Awards. Drake has released six studio albums since 2010, each album debuted No. 1 on the Billboard charts, except for his most recent album Certified Lover Boy which has yet to debut on the charts since it was released on Friday. 

NFL fans will get to hear Drake when the Baltimore Ravens take on the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday Night Football on Sept. 13. In previous years, the NFL would have two Monday Night Football games to start the season, but that changed when the league expanded the regular season to 17 games. For Week 18, the NFL is planning to have two games played on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. 

"This is a monumental moment in NFL history," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a press release earlier this year when talking about the expansion of the regular season. "The CBA with the players and the recently completed media agreements provide the foundation for us to enhance the quality of the NFL experience for our fans. And one of the benefits of each team playing 17 regular-season games is the ability for us to continue to grow our game around the world."  

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