The NFL drew scrutiny this week after new audio appeared on the "Move the Sticks" podcast feed, with listeners on social media suspecting the content was machine-generated.
The episode, posted Aug. 11, offered team previews for the NFC East and West divisions. The content featured an unidentified host whose voice was unfamiliar to regular listeners. iHeart, the NFL's audio partner, included a disclaimer stating the show was hosted by a human.
In response to inquiries, the NFL said NFL Media is rebranding the "Move the Sticks" podcast and revamping its content plan. The move follows ESPN's acquisition of NFL Network.
"The episode posted on 8/11 was a compilation of team previews from the NFL's YouTube page and not AI generated/hosted," the league said.
The podcast was previously hosted by NFL Network personalities Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks. The show had been dark since June 4, and the feed on Apple Podcasts still lists Jeremiah and Brooks as its hosts.
Jeremiah confirmed he is no longer involved. When asked on social media about the "weird AI podcast," he said: "No idea. I no longer appear on that old feed. I'm launching a new pod in a new home in the very near future."
The new content consists of bare-bones recitations of team moves, interspersed with audio from press conferences and games — a far cry from the analysis fans expected from Jeremiah.
Arif Hasan, who covers football for Wide Left, described the situation as "truly bizarre." Doug Lesmerises, co-host of an Ohio State football show, called the NFC West preview "AI slop" and criticized it as "insulting to [the] previous hosts and audience."
Even accepting the NFL's denial of AI involvement, the quality of the new content is a problem. It falls short of what any product carrying the NFL's name should deliver, and the rebranding effort is off to a rough start.
