TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — After three years in the NFL, Greg McElroy faced a decision.

He'd spent three years as a reserve with the Jets and Bengals and another opportunity came up. So, on Friday, McElroy announced his retirement from the NFL.

By Monday, he'll be announced as the newest addition to the SEC Network's stable of analysts. The exact details are still being ironed out, but the former Alabama quarterback is signing a long-term deal with the network launching Aug. 14, 2014.

McElroy joins analysts Jesse Palmer and Tim Tebow and commentators Paul Finebaum, Brent Musburger and Joe Tessitore.

The deal was too good to pass up for McElroy.

"You grow up wanting to play in the NFL and loving playing the game," McElroy told AL.com. "I started playing this game when I was 8, and for the first time in 17 years, I won't be putting on shoulder pads and a helmet every day in the fall. It will be difficult, but I know that with the opportunity to work for ESPN and cover a conference I'm so passionate for, there were just too many positives to overlook."

McElroy spent five years at Alabama and was the starting quarterback in 2009 and 2010. He won the national title as a junior with a 14-0 season culminating in the BCS championship win over Texas in the Rose Bowl. Overall, McElroy passed for 5,691 yards, 39 touchdowns and 10 interceptions with the Tide.

A seventh-round draft pick in 2011, McElroy started one game with the Jets and appeared in one other NFL game. He spent last season on the Bengals' scout team after being cut by the Jets, but McElroy realized he wanted to do TV a few years ago.

He was a guest on the ESPN networks at the 2011 BCS National Championship coverage of Auburn's win over Oregon.

"I can't say I was really nervous because I felt like I was doing something that I loved so much," McElroy said. "I felt like I was doing something I was passionate about, and that's talking football. Anybody that's ever been around me, they know I have a difficult straying from the subject if that's the subject we end up on."

Graduating from Alabama with a degree in business marketing, McElroy said he took his only broadcasting class back at Southlake Carroll High School in suburban Dallas.

"And the teacher, Mrs. Rose, to this day was one of my favorite teachers that I ever had," McElroy said. "I learned so much from that class."

McElroy also got a masters degree in sports marketing and was a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship as a senior. Broadcasting wasn't part of his plan until after leaving Alabama.

McElroy laughed about the thought of interviewing his former coach, Nick Saban.

"I must say, I've always watched his press conferences and I've always gotten a kick out of them," he said. "I look forward to being on the other side."

But his responsibilities will take him to the other 13 SEC schools as well. That includes Auburn.

"I hope they know that when I go down there, I'll be going with a very professional manner," McElroy said. "I'll be going to cover the game and be unbiased and tell what I really think. I think the world of every one of those schools and there's not one school I like more than any other. Of course, I went to the University of Alabama and I loved my time there, but at this point going forward, I'll have an unbiased opinion and will enjoy covering the game in a neutral way."