NFL Reporter Kaylee Hartung Comes Clean on ‘Insecurity’ Due to Amazon Job After Leaving Charissa Thompson Behind

Billie Jean King once said, “Pressure is a privilege.” While it might be true for sports, broadcasting is a totally different piece of cake. When you’re living under the bright lights of NFL prime-time, that pressure can mess with even the most confident pros. Just ask Kaylee Hartung and Charissa Thompson. Their journeys this season? Straight out of a drama series, full of wins, losses, and a whole lot of emotion.

You’d think that landing a sideline gig on Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football would be a major career high. And for Kaylee Hartung, it absolutely was. But with that success came a wave of unexpected challenges and insecurity. After crushing it at CBS News, ESPN, CNN, ABC, and NBC news, Hartung joined Amazon’s NFL crew in 2022. She then quickly became a Thursday night staple. “It’s the most special group of women I’ve ever gotten to consider myself part of,” she told Us Weekly, giving a sweet shoutout to colleagues like Charissa Thompson and Taylor Rooks.

But when she hopped on the Not Gonna Lie podcast with Kylie Kelce, Kaylee got real. She opened up about not having hobbies, admitting that it stemmed from some deep-seated insecurity. “It’s not a crime if you don’t have hobbies,” she said. “I’ve prioritized my career. Fault me for it if you’d like to – I need to call my mom, my grandmother  – I’m not an athlete, I don’t play pickleball — I don’t think that makes me a bad person.” She even called out her guilt list of overdue catch-up calls: “Suzanne – Brynn – Mary Stewart — I owe her a call too.” Very relatable, Kaylee.

It is clear she is laser-focused on her career, and she is only gaining speed. So when you are 100% devoted to something, you don’t need to apologize for your drive, right? As Kylie herself says in the podcast, “I would say you keeping in touch with people is a hobby, because I do think that’s a job in itself.” Kylie is in her corner, and so are we.

Getting nominated for an Emmy as Outstanding Personality/Sideline Reporter should feel like a huge win, and it was. But for Kaylee, it also came with a weird emotional twist. She was stepping into a spotlight once owned by her friend and former colleague, Charissa Thompson. And that’s where things get a little complicated.

Kaylee and Charissa – friends on different paths

In the podcast, Kaylee also said, “How many hours are there in a day if you’ve got a job that you’re dedicated to, or kids to chase after?” Kaylee’s career has clearly skyrocketed. But Charissa has been facing some major turbulence. After the Super Bowl, Charissa’s FOX contract quietly ran out. No renewal, no Emmy nominations, no public comments from the network. After spending years developing and building her career, this must have hurt. Kaylee had once said to Us Weekly, “Charissa and I were friends before we were ever on Thursday Night Football together,” but with everything that has happened, does Charissa feel the same bond now?

Remember that podcast where she admitted to sometimes making up sideline reports when coaches gave her nothing to work with? Yeah, that one came back to bite her. The internet didn’t hold back. Even though she apologized and owned up to it later. Still, through all of this, Charissa has stayed classy. She shared the nomination news on Instagram with a caption, “Congrats to everyone that was nominated. Proud to be part of such amazing shows and companies.” But fans definitely noticed she didn’t make the cut.

Instead of retreating, Charissa did what she does best—she pivoted hard. And this one’s quite wild. She signed on to cover Blue Origin’s New Shepard Mission NS-31, reporting on the first all-female space crew since 1963. “Let’s goooooooo, thrilled to be joining @blueorigin for this historic launch!!!” she posted. Total power move. And over the last few weeks, we have seen more on this, with her talking to the all-star crew – 

We have seen big names in sports media reinvent themselves after some heat. ESPN’s Jemele Hill also dealt with a sticky situation of her own, but she powered through it. But going from the NFL sidelines to covering a space mission? That’s next-level, right? Though we still do not know if Charissa will make a comeback to sports, her journey is far from over. Kaylee Hartung owns her insecurities and is finding her voice. Charissa Thompson’s turning controversy into opportunity and reaching for the stars—literally. Both are working hard to succeed on their own terms. And if that’s not inspiring, we don’t know what is.