Panthers’ first radio voice applied for NFL job. The rejection letter made him laugh
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- Bill Rosinski was original “Voice of the Carolina Panthers” for team’s first 10 seasons.
- Rosinski got rejected this week for a similar job with the Baltimore Ravens.
- His tweet about the rejection went viral, with more than 2 million views in 24 hours.
Bill Rosinski, the original radio voice of the Carolina Panthers, got rejected for the Baltimore Ravens’ NFL play-by-play job Wednesday. And when he opened the rejection email that broke this news to him, he started laughing in disbelief.
The form letter read, in part: “At this time, we have decided to pursue other candidates whose background and experience are more closely aligned with the requirements of the position.”
And what requirements would those be, Rosinski thought? How could anyone be more “closely aligned”?
The 72-year-old broadcaster had already been the play-by-play man for two NFL teams — the Panthers and, before that, the Atlanta Falcons. He worked for ESPN Radio for 10 years, calling NFL and college football games. He still works for PGA Tour Radio and calls occasional football games, too.
“So I just decided to put their letter out there on social media,” Rosinski said in a phone interview Thursday, “in a ‘Hey, how funny is this’ kind of way. I never expected what happened next.”
What happened was that Rosinski’s tweet went viral, with more than two million views in less than 24 hours.
“And the comments were all over the map,” Rosinski said. “Some people said, ‘Bill, it’s time for you to get put out to pasture.’ And other people said, ‘Hey, you’re getting screwed.’”
Rosinski’s tweet seemed to strike a chord with lots of people who have had to deal with getting rejected — from a potential job, college or relationship.
The language in the form letter also sounded like the language in every form letter ever.
“We appreciate the time and effort you put into interviewing with us,” said the letter — in reality Rosinski was never interviewed by anybody but did answer some questions online. “We enjoyed getting to learn more about you as well as share about our team and organization. Please continue to monitor our website for future opportunities. We appreciate your interest in the Baltimore Ravens and wish you every success in your current search.”
Was the letter an example of AI run amok?
Had an actual human even looked at his application material?
Shouldn’t a person with Rosinski’s experience at least have received a courtesy call to gauge his interest?
I called the Ravens Thursday to ask some of these questions and spoke with Chad Steele, who is part of the committee that will hire Baltimore’s new radio broadcaster and also the team’s senior vice president of communications. He said the Ravens were using an outside consultant as well as an in-house committee to review applications.
“There was no AI used in this process,” Steele said. “A real person reviewed everything. We had about 150 applications, and we’re at the finalist stage now.”
Many of the original 150 applicants who didn’t make the finals received a similar letter to the one Rosinski got, Steele said.
If you’re curious as to what that job pays, incidentally, when the Ravens posted it publicly they said the salary would be $4,000 to $5,000 per game. An NFL season consists of 20-24 games, including the preseason and potential playoff games, so it will end up somewhere between $80,000 and $120,000 a year. The person hired will be an independent contractor, which is commonplace in the NFL these days for team broadcasters, and also have other radio and TV hosting assignments.
Rosinski said he had “nothing against” the Ravens and hadn’t really expected to get the job anyway. The fact that most of the work would be in the Baltimore area would have caused some upheaval in his life. He and his wife Jane currently split their time between their homes in Charlotte and Hilton Head. He’s got a good life and is well aware of that fact.
But as he’s gotten older, Rosinski has wondered — like so many other people in the latter stage of their lives looking for full or part-time work — what role his age plays. Rosinski said he has applied for several NFL play-by-play jobs over the past few years and got interviewed by both New Orleans and Buffalo. Ultimately, though, those jobs went to someone else.
“What I’ve found out over the years is that regardless of the job, there’s often somebody there, somebody young who’s maybe been on the broadcast sidelines or maybe a former player or whatever,” Rosinski said. “The team doesn’t have to move them. They can treat it like a part-time job. And they usually get the position. But then I saw that Dave Sims got hired (to do radio play-by-play) for the New York Yankees in his early 70s. And so I’m thinking, ‘Hey, there’s still hope!’”
Rosinski called the first 200-plus games of the Panthers’ existence. When fans think about that first Super Bowl team — about X-Clown and the Cardiac Cats and all the rest — Rosinski’s is the voice they hear in their heads.
It’s been 21 years since his last Panthers game working for the team, in January 2005. But Panthers fans who see him on a golf course or in the grocery store will still remember perhaps his most famous call: “Yes, Charlotte, there is a Super Bowl, and we’re in it!”
Carolina didn’t renew Rosinski’s contract after that 10th season. That’s another story, and Rosinski or I can tell it to you over a beer sometime.
I don’t pretend to be totally objective about Rosinski. We’ve been friends for decades, and I’ve always thought he’s one of the best play-by-play guys I’ve ever heard.
As for the Ravens, Rosinski said, he was disappointed in the outcome but not that surprised.
“I don’t hold anything against Baltimore,” Rosinski said. “I really just thought it was funny. That’s just how jobs are handled these days. Early in my career, if you didn’t get a job, nobody even told you. There was just complete silence. You had to call the office and say, ‘Did they fill that position?’ And maybe they’d tell you something then. So at least they send you a letter nowadays. But I will say that I’m glad I had the bulk of my career when I had it. Things have certainly changed in this business.”
That goes for every business, of course. But kudos to Rosinski for even applying for a new job at age 72.
And kudos to anybody else 50 and over who’s doing exactly the same thing. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, as Wayne Gretzky and Michael Scott famously said.
Rosinski’s still got the itch to work, and so he’s still out there working, because he wants to be. That’s all any of us can ask for, right?
This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 3:01 PM.
