It’s already difficult for women to be recognized as reputable voices in football media. And when you add motherhood to this fight, their already hectic routine is made much tougher. ESPN’s Laura Rutledge seems to be a pro at it. She once got ready for a quick broadcast on the network “covered in biscuit crumbs,” and accidentally misplaced her keys with her eldest’s toy microphone. Every day, particularly during the latter half of the year, these two sides of her keep colliding against one another. Rutledge said that she still “loves it,” but there was once a time when she doubted the entire idea of motherhood.

“I’ll never forget finding out that I was pregnant and being so disappointed, which is like the worst thing,” Rutledge said on The Pivot on May 8. “I thought that this was going to end my career. I’m like, ‘I’m building all this momentum. I can’t get pregnant. I can’t be on TV, pregnant. There were other examples of women who had done it, but it did not feel like that was my story and my journey. 

“Even going through the pregnancy, I was like, ‘OK, this is it for me. I better do every single event that I can possibly do before I have this child because my career is over after that.’”

Laura Rutledge plays a significant role across a host of programs within ESPN’s portfolio. She serves as the primary host of NFL Live. In addition, she also anchors the Saturday morning SEC Nation pregame show on the SEC Network. She also regularly works the sidelines for ESPN’s top college football broadcasting crew. Last but not least, she works the sidelines during ESPN’S Monday Night Football doubleheader broadcasts. She’s been doing this since the early 2010s. But now, there’s barely enough time for her to gather her bearings before every appearance.

Rutledge is a mother to a soon-to-be six-year-old and a toddler. Her routine is going to be difficult to plan when the season rolls around.

“It’s like my brain is scrambled eggs at all times,” Rutledge told Front Office Sports, about the challenges of balancing both of her worlds. “I’m still trying to figure out the balancing work and kids. It’s a daily battle internally where I’m telling myself, ‘You’re not doing enough for them. You’re not present enough at work.’ It’s always this push and pull with that.”

Her fears rang true in a terrifying incident involving her youngest, Jack. During the holidays in 2023, he had suddenly developed a hematoma, having undergone surgery earlier in the month. Rutledge and her son had to be transported via a medical helicopter for emergency treatment. Her husband, former Boston Red Sox infielder Josh Rutledge, had to make a two-hour journey. They were very fortunate to be free of their duties.

But she’s never regretted a single day of becoming a mother, even though it is difficult to carve out a balance. Rutledge added that both of her children had actually marked key moments in her career. In 2020, after her eldest was born, she was named the host of NFL Live while she was already managing her SEC Nation duties. And in 2024, after Jack was born, Rutledge covered the prestigious Masters tournament at Augusta for the first time. Today, her two children give her “the greatest joy” in life.

Laura Rutledge Says Motherhood Changed How She Views Career and Success

Laura Rutledge’s firstborn, Reese, probably has an idea of how demanding her mother’s job is. Only two months after she was born, Rutledge returned to the camera. But a baby Reese was also tagging along with her sometimes. Today, that football exposure might have culminated in Reese pursuing a career of her own: picking game winners. On Saturdays during the college football season, Reese picks who she thinks will be the winner before the game. With time, her younger brother has also joined in on the fun.

“How could I ever think that career was more important than what this is?” Rutledge stated in the interview. “Knowing that feeling of getting to experience them and being their comfort and all those things, it is the greatest joy of my life.”

“I think what [Mother’s Day] means to me is – where you got lucky enough to be these two people’s mom, and that they will always say, ‘That’s my mom,’ and they can be proud. And I can be proud that something happened that I didn’t think was possible. … [To] still be blessed with these two amazing people, they are my whole world. I knew I was going to do this. I cannot talk about this without losing it,” Rutledge said, breaking into tears.

The famed ESPN anchor has ultimately found a way to pursue motherhood without completely sacrificing the career ambitions she had worked years to build. It probably gets a little easier when her kids grow up. But managing her two selves will forever be a tightrope, which she continues to walk with her usual aplomb.