PHOENIX — Charles Woodson, one of the most electric football players of the last quarter-century, had a feeling early on this season that the Eagles were primed to go on a run.
This take was at odds with Sean Payton, a Super Bowl-winning coach, who has since signed with the Broncos. When Payton and Woodson were analysts on “Fox NFL Kickoff,” the disagreement became a running bit on the program. By November, with the Eagles at 8-0, Payton relented.
Woodson parted ways with ESPN in 2019 after three seasons on “NFL Countdown.” He landed at Fox Sports later that year, analyzing college football, and vaulted into a role on “Fox NFL Kickoff” in 2021, and has excelled as part of the ensemble. He is part of the network’s Super Bowl LVII coverage before the Eagles take on the Chiefs on Sunday.
In some ways, there has been a parallel with Woodson’s NFL career, during which he left the Raiders for the Packers and became a vocal leader and standout performer on their Super Bowl XLV championship team aftet the 2010 season.
“I feel like I was thriving in Oakland. Of course, it didn’t end the way I wanted it to,” Woodson, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021, told The Post. “I felt like I was thriving at ESPN, but it didn’t end the way I wanted it to. I don’t look at it as I wasn’t doing well in one place, and all of a sudden I’m doing well in another place. I felt like I was thriving in each of them. … But, coming here and being part of this crew, there’s a lot of attention on our show, and people get a chance to see me showcase what I bring to the table in another setting. I think that’s really all that it is. I don’t feel like I was doing a bad job at the other place and all of a sudden doing a good job now.”
Jeremy Mennell, the producer of “Fox NFL Kickoff,” gushed about Woodson’s leadership.
“He’s a leader of men, just like he was on the football field,” Mennell told The Post. “He’s never afraid to push envelopes. He challenges people to stand behind their points or expand on them and dig deeper into that conversation. The fact that he doesn’t shy away from friendly confrontation makes it better each week.”
Charles Woodson is thriving at Fox Sports after his ESPN exit in 2019. Getty ImagesWoodson, who won the 1997 Heisman Trophy as a standout at Michigan, praised the “family atmosphere” with the show’s other talents, Charissa Thompson, Michael Vick and Payton, producer Jeremy Mennell and researcher Jaret Klein and the collegial environment of Fox Sports in general.
“Just been having fun with the crew,” Woodson said. “Everybody here before I actually signed the deal was very welcoming. They couldn’t wait for me to join the show. I appreciated that love in coming over. But I’d just say that we’re just having fun. We have a great time, and that’s what I love about it.”
Outside of broadcasting, Woodson has launched growing wine and whiskey businesses. Intercept Wine launched in 2019 and has gained national distribution. It’s available in Cabernet, Pinot, Red Blend and Chardonnay and retails for around $20 a bottle. Woodson Whiskey produces 80 proof bourbon in Kentucky and then finishes it in wine barrels.
Charles Woodson hoists Lombardi trophy after Packers win Super Bowl XLV in 2011. Getty Images“It’s a very approachable, easy-drinking bourbon that is really taking off,” Woodson said. “We’re in about 7-8 states, looking to add 3-4 in the next couple months, and gearing up to try to get national distribution.”
Woodson is also a star and executive producer of the documentary “Perfect 10,” covering the 10 athletes who both won the Heisman Trophy and were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which debuts Saturday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.






