Brent Musburger’s return to football started at a hockey game.

In January 2018, a year after Musburger surprisingly left ESPN to help his nephew launch a sports gambling venture in Las Vegas, he walked into a Golden Knights game with casino mogul Derek Stevens. They ran into Raiders owner Mark Davis in an arena lounge, and by the time they parted ways, Davis had asked Musburger if he would like to do play-by-play for the Raiders.

“He caught me unaware and I wanted to get down to the game. The only thing I can think of was he meant the preseason games on TV,” Musburger said. “So, I said, ‘Sure, give me a call.’ ”

A few days later, Musburger got a call from Raiders president Marc Badain and realized they were asking for a much more serious commitment — to be the full-time radio play-by-play man.

“When I stepped away from ESPN, I fully expected to be done with play-by-play,” the 80-year-old Musburger said. “First, I talked to my wife, Arlene. We’d been married 57 years and it was the first time I had seven straight days with her. She said, ‘Brent, you love the action. Go do it.’

“In fairness, I wouldn’t have done it if the team wasn’t coming to Las Vegas.”

Six months later, Musburger, who signed a three-year contract, was back in an NFL booth as the voice of one of the league’s most storied franchises. The latter years of Musburger’s ESPN career were mostly spent as one of the network’s top college football and basketball voices. He had not been involved with the NFL since he was a studio host for “Monday Night Football” from 1990-95.

“It helps to keep you young when you are 80 years old,” Musburger, now in his second season, said. “When you are an old guy like me, you don’t want to sit around and complain about things, aches and pains, grabbing jars of pills. I didn’t want to do that. I think what I missed was the actual excitement of the game. I grew up a sports nut in Montana and got very lucky growing up in the right place at the right time. … It has really helped energize me.”

Most of Musburger’s time is still spent hosting a weekday radio show — “My Guys in the Desert” — for the growing VSiN network, which broadcasts from the South Point Casino. He joins the team in Oakland at the end of the week to take in a practice, then travels with it if there’s a road game, like Sunday against the Jets. Musburger said his relationship with coach Jon Gruden from their days at ESPN — “we always talked about working in the booth together” — has helped with the gig.

“There has to be trust between your radio guy and the coaches,” Musburger said. “I can go to Jon and ask him what’s going on and things like that. He’s just great to be around.”

Gruden, who left ESPN around the time Musburger was offered the Raiders job, returned to Oakland with a $100 million contract. After a dismal first season, Gruden has this year’s team a surprising 6-4 and in playoff contention in the AFC.

Musburger has one year left on his contract after this season, which will make him the voice of the team when it moves to Sin City in 2020. Will that be his last season, though?

“You mention it and I say, ‘Come on, my man, give me another five or six seasons,’” Musburger booms in the same tone of his famous “You are looking live” intro that would greet viewers before his many TV broadcasts for CBS, ABC and ESPN.

“I’ll have to play it by ear, but obviously I wanted that first year in Las Vegas.”