This is just speculation, but it's being WIDELY speculated today. Jerome Bettis will not have his contract renewed by NBC, and will be left out in the cold come this season on the network. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald mentioned this when Madden's retirement announcement came down, and now Neil Best is reporting the same thing.... Three years after his much-ballyhooed, post-Super Bowl, announced-during-the-Winter Olympics hiring, it is likely NBC football analyst Jerome Bettis will not have his contract renewed for the coming season and beyond. Late last season NBC moved Bettis and Tiki Barber out of its crowded studio and into the field to serve primarily as well-connected reporters. If NBC has a replacement in mind, I do not know who he is. Hey...what about that retired quarterback the Jets released this week?While I normally would think that a network would love to make a huge splash like this, it makes no sense for NBC. They already have twenty people on the payroll, and not nearly enough studio space or time to put them on air. As for Bettis, you knew it was a matter of time. The guy is extremely likeable, but he really just didn't belong on television. Jerome Bettis appears to be on his way out at NBC (Watchdog)