NFL forced to issue statement after being embroiled in blowback from bizarre AI controversy

Aug 13, 2026 - 12:00

The NFL was accused of posting an AI-generated episode of its Move the Sticks podcast on Wednesday.

Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks previously hosted the show and are still listed on the feed, but new previews for the NFC East and NFC West landed with an unidentified broadcaster.

Jeremiah confirmed he is launching a new show

A disclaimer from NFL audio partner iHeart opened the episodes claiming that the host was human, but fans quickly took to social media to question whether the voice was machine-generated.

Doug Lesmerises — co-host of an Ohio State football show on YouTube — called the NFC West preview ‘AI slop’ and branded it ‘insulting’ to loyal listeners.

The NFL issued a statement amid the backlash.

“NFL Media is in the process of re-branding Move the Sticks and revamping its content plan following the acquisition of NFL Network by ESPN,” an NFL spokesperson told Front Office Sports.

“The episode posted on 8/11 was a compilation of team previews from the NFL’s YouTube page and not AI generated/hosted.”

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Jeremiah was asked about the weird AI podcast on social media.

“No idea. I no longer appear on that old feed,” he replied. “I’m launching a new pod in a new home in the very near future.”

NFL fans have come to expect a certain level of polish from the podcast, which used to feature in-depth analysis from two former scouts with solid broadcast credentials.

No new previews have landed as of Thursday morning and it remains to be seen if the league will rethink the strategy, especially as it is not exactly short of money having sold a stake to ESPN for $3 billion.

RedZone blackout is over

In better news for fans, RedZone and NFL Network will be returning to Xfinity TV after going dark in April when agreements with Comcast expired.

“Disney/ESPN acquired NFL Network and Red Zone just months ago and are already demanding double the fees for the same content,” read a statement from Comcast at the time. “Their distribution demands would also make millions more pay for a channel they don’t watch.”

Football is back with Thursday seeing a six-game slate

A Disney spokesperson fired back: “We understand how disappointing and disruptive this is for football fans who have lost access to NFL Network and RedZone Channel as part of their Xfinity TV lineup,”

“We proposed keeping these channels available while we continued good-faith negotiations, but unfortunately Comcast declined and took them down.

“Despite this, we remain fully committed to reaching a fair agreement and restoring access to our best-in-class NFL programming as quickly as possible.”

Preseason football is back and thankfully a deal has been struck with just weeks until Scott Hanson is beamed into households all over the world every Sunday.

“We’re pleased to have reached an agreement with The Walt Disney Company to bring NFL Network to our customers in time for the start of the preseason games and to offer NFL RedZone Channel at the beginning of the regular season,” a Comcast spokesperson confirmed via Awful Announcing.

Thursday sees 12 teams in preseason action off the back of a surprisingly thrilling Hall of Fame Game.

We’re back.