It’s a sad day for NFL fans as NBC has announced that Al Michaels will not be the play-by-play announcer for their NFL playoff games this season. Al Michaels has been a staple of NFL broadcasts since the 1970s, and his voice has become synonymous with the NFL.
Michaels has been the lead play-by-play announcer for NBC’s Sunday Night Football since 2006, and he has been the lead announcer for the network’s NFL playoff coverage since 2011. He is also the longtime play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football on ABC.
NBC Sports executive producer Fred Gaudelli said in a statement, “Al Michaels is an icon in sports broadcasting and we are grateful for his contributions to NBC Sports over the past 14 years. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
Michaels’ replacement for the NFL playoffs will be Mike Tirico, who joined NBC in 2016 after spending 25 years at ESPN. Tirico will be joined by Cris Collinsworth, who has been NBC’s lead analyst for Sunday Night Football since 2009.
The move comes as a surprise to many, as Michaels had been a fixture in NFL broadcasting for decades. He had been the lead announcer for ABC’s Monday Night Football since 1986 and was the lead announcer for NBC’s Sunday Night Football since 2006.
It’s unclear why NBC decided to make this change, but it’s likely that they wanted to freshen up their broadcast team and give Tirico a chance to shine in a bigger role. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that Michaels will be missed by NFL fans everywhere.
