[3] Nessler's career with ESPN began in 1992 with college basketball games, as well as Big Ten and Thursday night football contests, and expanded with the addition of ABC Sports assignments in 1997.
His voice (along with that of his broadcast partner, Dick Vitale) was featured in the EA Sports NCAA March Madness video game series.
[citation needed] In 1997, when Nessler began calling college football for ABC, he was regarded as the #3 play-by-play man, behind Keith Jackson and Brent Musburger.
[citation needed] Starting in 2006, Nessler had provided play-by-play for SEC games on Super Tuesday and Thursday Night Showcase, alongside Sean Farnham or Dick Vitale (and formerly Jimmy Dykes) and sideline reporter Heather Cox.
Nessler teamed with Ron Jaworski, Dick Vermeil, and Bonnie Bernstein to call the second game, featuring the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders.
[citation needed] In May 2011, Nessler was hired by NFL Network to call its Thursday Night Football telecasts, on which he was teamed with analyst Mike Mayock for an eight-game package.