Josina Anderson and Damien Woody have been signed to multi-year contract extensions by ESPN, the network announced Wednesday.
Anderson has emerged as ESPN's most original and incisive voice during coverage of the Colin Kaepernick controversy. Woody makes frequent appearances on "Mike & Mike" in the morning.
As NFL experts, both Anderson and Woody could appear on Mike Greenberg's new New York City-based morning show, which is set to debut in 2018.
With Kaepernick blackballed by NFL teams due to his protest for racial justice, Anderson challenged other NFL quarterbacks to support their colleague before kickoff of the 2017 season.
"Where are the quarterbacks?" Anderson asked Trey Wingo. "Where is the diversity in the support of a fellow brethren in the NFL who this is happening to?"
She proved to be prophetic.
By Week 3, star white quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers of the Packers and Tom Brady were either taking a knee or linking arms with teammates. While they didn't directly support Kaepernick, they at least came out of the high bleachers and did something -- instead of nothing as they did last season.
Anderson was named ESPN's first female NFL insider in 2015. She'll continue to serve as a news-breaker, game-day reporter and contributor to TV shows such as "NFL Live," "Sunday NFL Countdown" and "SportsCenter."
She recently scored one-on-one interviews with Adrian Peterson of the Saints and Richard Sherman of the Seahawks. She joined ESPN in 2011.
"Josina is exceptional at breaking NFL news, storytelling and game-day reporting, while Damien offers tremendous insight on the games and on the experiences of NFL players,” said Seth Markman, ESPN's senior coordinating producer of NFL studio shows in statement. “Both are signature NFL voices for ESPN who will continue to elevate our coverage in the years ahead.”
Woody, a two-time Super Bowl champion, will continue to appear regularly on "NFL Live" and other shows as well as ESPN Radio. He also joined ESPN in 2011.