Al Michaels to Amazon, ‘Thursday Night Football’ is Finally, Reportedly Happening
Michaels’ three-year deal will be “in the Joe Buck neighborhood,” which presumably means that the legendary broadcaster will earn in the $15 million per year range.
Al Michaels’ long-rumored move to Amazon to become the play-by-play voice of Thursday Night Football is finally, truly going to happen.
After reporting for weeks that Michaels and Amazon were “on the half-yard line” in agreeing to a deal, the two sides have now pushed the ball over the goal line. The New York Post‘s Andrew Marchand reports that Michaels’ deal will be “in the Joe Buck neighborhood,” which presumably means that the legendary broadcaster will earn in the $15 million per year range. His contract is a three-year agreement.
(Buck reportedly agreed to a five-year, $75 million contract with ESPN.)
Michaels was reportedly under consideration by ESPN for its Monday Night Football booth and a pairing with Troy Aikman would have been intriguing. But the opportunity to keep Aikman teamed up with Joe Buck and continue a 20-year partnership was too enticing to resist.
There was also speculation (or maybe fantasizing for sports media observers) that Michaels could replace Buck on Fox’s No. 1 NFL broadcast team. But all signs point to Fox elevating Kevin Burkhardt to the network’s top play-by-play role, likely alongside analyst Greg Olsen.
As mentioned, Michaels is signing a three-year deal and perhaps that was a concern for both ESPN and Fox if they wanted at least a five-year commitment. Michaels was clearly waiting to put pen to paper with Amazon until the ESPN and Fox situations worked themselves out. Once it became apparent that both networks were moving in other directions, however, Amazon was the last option remaining for a broadcaster of Michaels’ stature.
Besides the money and best available opportunity, Amazon was believed to have an advantage with Michaels by hiring NBC’s Sunday Night Football producer, Fred Gaudelli, to oversee its Thursday Night Football coverage. Michaels and Gaudelli have worked together for decades, going back to their days on ABC’s Monday Night Football.
Michaels will partner with Kirk Herbstreit on Thursday Night Football broadcasts. Herbstreit signed on earlier this month and will continue broadcasting both College GameDay and college football telecasts for ESPN and ABC. Prior to bringing on Herbstreit, Amazon reportedly pursued Aikman, John Lynch, and Sean McVay for the TNF analyst role.
According to Marchand, Herbstreit’s deal will pay him “eight figures a year.” Amazon is expected to officially announce Michaels and Herbstreit as its TNF broadcast team, perhaps as early as this week.
One question that may be answered with that official announcement: How many games will Michaels call each season for Amazon? Marchand reports that Michaels will still call “a game or two” for NBC, including a playoff game — which isn’t part of Amazon’s package.
But Michaels hasn’t called a full slate of broadcasts during the past two seasons. NBC had 20 NFL telecasts in 2021, including Thursday night games for the season opener and Thanksgiving. Mike Tirico filled in when Michaels took a week off. But he was also contractually entitled to call some games each season, which might be why Michaels had some bye weeks on the schedule.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
When the Denver Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in the 47-year history of the franchise, ESPN showed the team’s celebration for all of four seconds. It then quickly switched to a shot of LeBron James, stoic but obviously disappointed, walking through the tunnel back to the Los Angeles Lakers locker room.
Tuesday on ESPN’s First Take, JJ Redick criticized the network’s NBA coverage for highlighting larger markets and a small faction of players considered to be “superstars.” There’s no way to tell if Charles Barkley was watching, but Redick’s point is one he agreed with.
That night on Inside the NBA, Barkley said he was annoyed with the amount of attention put on LeBron James after the game. He wanted to see the reactions of Nuggets stars Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray and head coach Michael Malone to making the NBA Finals. Instead, he and other viewers were inundated with more content centered around the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I was so mad this morning I actually turned the TV off,” Barkley said last night on Inside the NBA, “because the Denver Nuggets sweep and get to the Finals for the first time. We all love LeBron, [but] he didn’t say he was retired yet. It should’ve been all about the Denver Nuggets.”
"I was so mad this morning I actually turned the TV off. Because the Denver Nuggets sweep, get to the finals for the first time… We all love LeBron, he didn't say he was retired yet… But it should've been all about the Denver Nuggets."
James, for the record, did not even say that he was seriously considering retiring. In a post-game press conference following the Lakers’ elimination, he said he “had a lot to think about” in the offseason.
The Walt Disney Company has reported its most-watched NBA playoffs on ESPN platforms in the last 11 years, according to data provided by Nielsen Media Research. The games have averaged approximately 5.6 million viewers, a 9% increase from the year prior. Moreover, Game 4 between the Nuggets and Lakers peaked at around 11.5 million viewers from the 11 to 11:15 p.m. EST quarter hour window, and averaged 8.2 million over the duration of the contest.
ESPN Layoffs Resume, NFL & NBA Talent Likely To See Biggest Cuts
“The company is beginning its latest phase of layoffs this week with Vice President of Research, Insights and Analytics Barry Blyn receiving a pink slip Wednesday morning.”
ESPN will look to slash $30 million in salary as The Walt Disney Company’s layoffs continue, with a majority of it coming from talent covering the NFL and NBA. The network’s goal is to have the layoffs completed by the end of June according to a report by Front Office Sports.
Through it all, Max Kellerman’s afternoon television show This Just In could be canceled in order to slot Pat McAfee’s show into the daily programming lineup. Kellerman’s show airs from 2 to 3 p.m. EST, meaning more moves could be on the way to hold McAfee’s statement that his show will air immediately following First Take, which concludes at noon.
Employee morale at ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol is reportedly quite low, with people questioning why the company chose to pay McAfee and lay off a litany of its dedicated and longtime staffers.
The company is beginning its latest phase of layoffs this week with Vice President of Research, Insights and Analytics Barry Blyn receiving a pink slip Wednesday morning. More names are surely to follow as The Worldwide Leader looks to do its part to contribute to Disney cutting $5.5 billion in costs. The final round is expected to impact 2,500 employees in different areas of the company.
The company expects to report its own earnings for the first time this November, and sources have stated that the numbers will be impressive. Conducting the layoffs in separate rounds and saving on-air talent for last, however, has certainly played a role in public perception of the moves, and this week’s round will largely impact executives and other personnel behind the scenes.
The ManningCast on ESPN has become appointment viewing for select Monday Night Football games. Eli Manning loves the fun, laid-back nature of the show he and brother Peyton put on for fans.
But with live TV, sometimes unpredictable things happen, and sometimes people use profanity. Eli, speaking on Tuesday at the 4se sports and entertainment event in New York City, said viewers get a kick out of when the two let occasional profanities slip and have to scramble to say sorry.
“We get a lot of curse words, some from Peyton, some from guests,” he said. “I feel like we’re apologizing for a lot of things on the show, but I guess people enjoy that part.”
Manning has said previously that the goal is for viewers to get the sense that Peyton and Eli are right there with them on their couch watching the game. Eli said it’s been fun getting to show some authenticity now that he’s retired.
“When I was playing, there was a conscious effort; I didn’t want either my fans or coaches to think I had a life outside of football,” he said. “Once I retired, I realized I didn’t have to hold back.”
Jordan Bondurant is a features reporter for Barrett Sports Media. He’s a multimedia journalist and communicator who works at the Virginia State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Jordan also contributes occasional coverage of the Washington Capitals for the blog NoVa Caps. His prior media experiences include working for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Danville Register & Bee, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, WRIC-TV 8News and Audacy Richmond. He can be reached by email at bondurantmedia@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @J__Bondurant.
