The NFL offseason can be a dull time, especially during the month between the Super Bowl and the start of free agency in early March. Luckily, the NFL Scouting Combine helps whet our appetites a bit during that dry period. Without a doubt, the headline event of the Combine has always been the 40-yard dash because of the blazing straight-line speed players can exhibit. And then there’s Rich Eisen.
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Since the NFL Network secured the rights to broadcast the Combine in 2005, the TV host and radio personality has run an officially timed 40-yard dash in full suit and dress shoes each and every year. The image of him sprinting in a jacket and tie has become so synonymous with Eisen that he even made the silhouette his radio show’s logo.
The event, now called “Run Rich Run,” is comedic, and Eisen knows that. But, that doesn’t mean the now-55-year-old broadcaster wants to take it slow. He wants to beat his previous times. He wants to be (relatively) fast. But that competitive drive in a middle-aged man can take a toll on the body. Eisen recently told Pat McAfee how his hamstring paid the price for his 40-yard dash pride.
“One year, I ran it so slow twice, and I ran it a third time, because I just wanted to run it faster. And I popped my hamstring in the middle of it and Mike Mayock said to me, ‘You’ve gotta air it!’ As soon as it airs, he goes, ‘Hey, looks like there was a sniper in the dome.’ … So I just kept doing it over and over and over again and now it’s been 20 years.”
It started as a joke between him and Terrell Davis. During some downtime at the 2005 Combine, Eisen glanced over at the 40-yard dash lane and asked the Hall of Famer how fast he thought he could run it. The former NFL MVP laughed him off, which only fueled Eisen’s competitive spirit. So, he went out and ran it. Unbeknownst to him, the NFL Network cameras recorded it, and a tradition was born.
“I turn to Terrell Davis, I say, ‘TD, how fast do you think I can run it?’ And he laughs, he goes, ‘You can’t run for sh*t.’ I just said, ‘Go f*** yourself, watch me.’ I went and ran it, and had no idea that the crew that was on break was actually recording it. And then the next day we had Joe Gibbs on and a whole bunch of other coaches came in… Immediately they popped the 40-yard dash in and they were all making fun of me and having fun with it.”
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He originally ran at the Combine before moving to the NFL Draft and eventually to his own event in 2021, when the Combine wasn’t held due to COVID. That year, it took place at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, followed by the Rose Bowl in Pasadena in 2022.
Even the simulcam guy beat Rich Eisen at the 40-yard dash
: #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/iQ0J1cn94U
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 4, 2019
Since 2015, Eisen has added a charitable component to his run. The event has essentially become an annual fundraising event for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Over that decade or so, the broadcaster and company have raised over $5.2 million for the hospital.
For those wondering, Eisen usually runs his 40 in about 6.0 seconds. His first in 2005 was a 6.77, and his most recent in 2024 was a 6.24. He ran sub-6.0 seconds four times from 2014 to 2020 during his athletic prime, with his very best score of 5.94 coming in 2016.
