CINCINNATI — St. Xavier High School graduate Luke Kuechly is reportedly joining Netflix as its new No. 1 NFL game analyst this season.
The Athletic reported Tuesday that Kuechly, who will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame next week, is joining the Netflix NFL coverage.
“That guy has studied more film than days the average fan has lived,” St. Xavier football coach Steve Specht told WCPO 9 Sports in a text message Tuesday night. “He’ll be phenomenal! Just great!”
Netflix has a Week 1 game with the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers in Australia.
Netflix has the NFL’s first Thanksgiving Eve game Nov. 25 when the Green Bay Packers visit the Rams at SoFi Stadium. There will also be a Christmas Day doubleheader and a Week 18 game.
Kuechly will reportedly work four games alongside play-by-play announcer Noah Eagle.
Kuechly will also work 12 games as an analyst for the Carolina Panthers Radio Network, according to the team.
The former Carolina Panthers linebacker and Boston College star joined the Panthers Radio Network in 2022.
"One of the most brilliant minds to ever play the game," former NFL defensive end JJ Watt told WCPO 9 Sports Anchor Caleb Noe earlier this month. "Thoroughly enjoyed competing against him. Just talking football with him is talking football at the highest level. He sees the game three steps ahead of everybody else because he studied it three times more than everybody else. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame."
Kuechly, a 2009 St. Xavier graduate, was elected in February to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Kuechly is one of five players scheduled to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 on Aug. 8 in Canton. He joins quarterback Drew Brees, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and kicker Adam Vinatieri in the Modern-Era Players category. Running back Roger Craig was elected in the Seniors category.
Kuechly, who grew up in Evendale, is just the third Greater Cincinnati high school football player to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He joins former Roger Staubach (1960 Purcell High School graduate) and Cris Carter (1984 Middletown graduate). Staubach, a 1985 inductee, grew up in Silverton. Carter, a 2013 inductee, was born in Troy.
Kuechly, a 2023 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his second year of eligibility.
A seven-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time All-Pro player, Kuechly was the NFL Rookie of the Year in 2012 and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. He became the youngest player to win that defensive player of the year honor.
Kuechly also helped the Panthers reach their second-ever Super Bowl appearance in 2016. In April 2020, Kuechly was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. Selected by the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, that list included 52 players and two head coaches.
Kuechly was the ninth selection in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Panthers.
