Imago
Ben DiNucci
Imago
Ben DiNucci
“Not many beers better than the airport ‘I just got cut from the NFL for the 7th time’ beer.” When a quarterback after being released by the Atlanta Falcons posted this on his socials last year , it went viral. But it was more than just dry humor. It showed why the league is often nicknamed “Not for Long.” Most players in this position would be staring down a dead end, but this former Falcon decided to rewrite the script and in real time.
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Just 48 hours later, quarterback Ben DiNucci posted another viral airport photo. Though this time, it didn’t reek of doom and gloom. Instead, in his hand was a package containing a broadcaster suit, signaling his start as a college football color commentator with CBS Sports Network. Ironically, a year later, he’s yet again standing with an imaginary package in hand, ready to don another suit.
This past week on April 13, 2026, he shared photos from Los Angeles where he was participating in the official NFL Broadcast and Media Bootcamp. Looking comfortable in the setup, he captioned it, “Great week in LA @NFL broadcast and media bootcamp 🤙🏻🌴🎙️.” This pivot though comes at the cost of his dream cut short.
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Ben DiNucci began his NFL journey after playing at Pittsburgh and James Madison. He joined the Dallas Cowboys as a late seventh-round draft pick in 2020. Chosen at No. 231 overall, he didn’t get much playing time in Dallas, taking the field in three games and starting once, where he completed 23 out of 43 passes for 219 yards. However, things rarely stayed steady after that.
He bounced across the league, spending time with the Broncos, Bills, Saints, and Falcons. During this time, he was signed and let go multiple times, never really finding a home, and ended up being cut seven times in total. Thats when he posted the now viral caption from the airport. Taking such back to back rejections are never easy, and DiNucci explained how he coped up with that phase to the Athletic last year.
“As I’ve grown and progressed, I feel like I’ve developed more toughness. It callouses you in a way, like a blister. All of these hardships and rejections have developed almost a mental callous,” he said in the interview last year in September. “If I get cut from an NFL team or fired from my job, there’s a reason. There was something that I wasn’t doing, so you have to look in the mirror, make adjustments, and move on.”
And move on he has, and rather brilliantly.
Ben DiNucci’s defied the odds to thrive in media
DiNucci is a natural when it comes to the media job. DiNucci jumped into a new role as a college football color commentator with CBS Sports Network, making his debut calling the Bucknell vs. Air Force season opener. This was a significant moment for him, proving he could still be part of the game, even without wearing a helmet.
He kept things simple on air, breaking down plays and decisions in a way that felt easy to follow. Drawing from his recent experience as a quarterback, he talked about quarterback reads and shifts in momentum clearly, helping viewers grasp the game without making it too complex. He also served as a studio analyst on CBS Sports HQ, chatting about league updates, injuries, and team tactics. In a short span, he built consistency in front of the camera.
Most 7th-round picks don’t make a final roster, let alone stick around long enough to be cut seven times. Irrespective of that, he took his chances and kept showing up. Moreover, this move is a rather a strategic one.
The statistics in NFL are grimmer than the scoreboards. The average career span is just 3.3 years and a 2009 study by Sports Illustrated found that 78% of the players face financial hardships within two years of leaving the game. So by pivoting just two days after his release, DiNucci just bypassed this entire trap. And the NFL Broadcast Bootcamp program after all was put in place for the very same reasons.
It was launched in 2007 with the motto of helping current and recently retired NFL players transition into potential careers in media, as analysts or experts. Over 300 NFL players, including stars like Dan Orlovsky and Jason Kelce, have benefitted from the program.
Written by
Edited by
Aatreyi Sarkar