Al Michaels named to 'emeritus' role at NBC, to call one NFL Playoff game
After a busy offseason, Al Michaels is returning to NBC. Well, kind of.
The network announced it’s naming Michaels to am “emeritus” role with the network, meaning he’ll still contribute to coverage of the Olympics and the NFL Playoffs. He’ll also call one playoff game this year for the network as part of the arrangement.
“I’m looking forward to continuing my longtime NBC relationship while also launching the Thursday Night Football package on Amazon this fall,” Michaels said in a statement. “A special thanks to NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua and the folks at NBCUniversal for their help in making this happen.”
Last season was Michaels’ 15th in the NBC booth, and he’s getting ready to team up with Kirk Herbstreit to call Thursday Night Football for Amazon Prime this year — his 37th in the booth. Michaels was the voice of Monday Night Football for 20 years before heading to NBC and won the 2021 Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence in baseball.
“Revered by viewers and colleagues, Al has been the soundtrack for many of the greatest moments in sports television history,” Pete Bevacqua, chairman of NBC Sports, said in a statement. “We are thrilled that he’s staying in the family and raising the stature of our events for years to come.”
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After Michaels’ departure, Mike Tirico will take over as play-by-play announcer for Sunday Night Football alongside Cris Collinsworth. NBC will have three playoff games this year, according to the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, and Michaels will call one with another partner to be named later. Sideline reporter Michele Tafoya also left NBC, and the network tabbed NFL Network’s Melissa Stark to replace her.
It was a crazy offseason for NFL announcers. FOX’s lead booth of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman left to become the new Monday Night Football booth, leading to promotions for Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen to the top spot. But Olsen’s promotion is only temporary as FOX gets ready to sign Tom Brady as its lead analyst once he retires.