NEW ORLEANS — The wall has finally crumbled. For years, the Associated Press kept the NFL’s in-house reporters on the wrong side of the velvet rope when it came to voting for the league’s most prestigious honors. But when the AP dropped the list of 50 voters for the 2025 NFL Awards following Thursday night’s NFL Honors, the script flipped.
The new panel includes Judy Battista, Kyle Brandt, Rich Eisen, and Mike Garafolo—all NFL Network staples. That’s a 10 percent stake in the voting block for league employees. But the man who loudly banged the drum for this exact change last year? Tom Pelissero remains on the sidelines. The irony is thicker than the humidity in the Bayou.
The Pelissero Paradox
Flashback to early 2025: Tom Pelissero torched the AP’s exclusion policy. He pointed out the absurdity of giving votes to “people paid by sportsbooks” and “people who own parts of NFL teams” (hello, Tom Brady) while freezing out the insiders who live and breathe the league 24/7. His exact words echoed what many fans thought:
“If you’re wondering why the [AP] gives votes to people paid by sportsbooks… but nobody from NFL Network… Yeah, me too.” — Tom Pelissero, NFL Network Insider (2025)
Fast forward to February 2026. The AP listened. They opened the gates. They welcomed four of Pelissero’s colleagues. And yet, Pelissero himself didn’t get a ballot. It’s a plot twist worthy of a primetime drama.
The Corporate Curveball
Here is where it gets complicated. The definition of an “NFL employee” shifted beneath everyone’s feet just days ago. Last weekend, the NFL and ESPN finalized a massive deal that sees the league acquiring a 10 percent equity stake in ESPN. As part of this blockbuster move, NFL Network’s talent roster is set to transition under the ESPN umbrella starting this April.
This creates a bizarre reality for the AP’s integrity check. If the AP had stuck to its “no league employees” rule, they would now logically have to purge every ESPN voter from the panel too—including the four voters Bristol already contributes. Instead, the lines are blurring. The NFL now owns a piece of the network that covers it, and the reporters who cover the league for the league are now effectively working for the network the league owns a piece of. Confused? You should be.
What This Means for The Ballot
For decades, fans questioned if NFL-employed voters could remain objective about the players signing their paychecks. The 2025 panel suggests the AP is betting on professionalism over perception. With Kurt Warner (officially listed under Westwood One but synonymous with NFL Network) also in the mix, the league’s internal media arm now holds significant sway over who takes home the MVP and All-Pro honors.
Ultimately, this change was overdue. Battista, Brandt, Eisen, and Garafolo bring serious expertise to a process that demands deep knowledge of the 2025 season. They spend hours dissecting game film and talking to locker rooms. It’s better to have informed voters with a corporate logo on their check than uninformed voters guessing based on highlight reels.
As for Pelissero? Maybe 2027 is his year.