Chris Berman to take reduced role at ESPN after the NFL season.

Chris Berman will assume a much-reduced role at ESPN after the current NFL season, the network announced Thursday.

Berman, 61, who has been with ESPN since shortly after its launch in 1979 and been its primary NFL studio host for 31 years, will step down as host of Sunday NFL Countdown, NFL PrimeTime and Monday Night Countdown after Super Bowl LI.

He also will no longer host the NFL Draft and Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby.

Berman signed a new deal that will have him appear weekly on the Monday night studio show, conducting taped interviews and hosting historical segments. He also will do baseball play-by-play on ESPN radio during the playoffs and take part in the ESPYs. He still will host NFL PrimeTime after the NFL conference championship games and the Super Bowl.

The news of Berman’s new role was first reported by online publication Sports Business Daily.

“The whole experience here has been a dream come true,” Berman said in a news release. “I’m thrilled that this ride will continue, albeit differently. Today’s announcement allows me to fulfill perhaps my final professional goal — knowing that I will finish with the team I came in with.”

ESPN senior vice president Stephanie Druley told Sports Business Daily, “It’s always been about finding the best fit, and Chris has had a say in every part of that. By no means are we pushing him out the door, or even easing him out the door.”

Druley said no replacements have been considered yet for the programs Berman is leaving.