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Al Michaels is one of America's most recognized voices in the NFL world. The 79-year-old announcer has called some of the biggest games the league has had to offer for almost four decades. However, that is coming to an end to the shock of fans.
NBC has left the legendary broadcaster off its NFL playoff schedule and will be replaced by Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge in the booth and Kathryn Tappen as the sideline reporter.
The move shocked Michaels as he assumed he would be calling a playoff game on NBC this season. Last month, the New York Post spoke to Michaels, who said he believed he was still going to call the game on NBC, but did not know with whom he would be working in the booth.
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Michaels sounded unaware of the possibility when informed by The Post that his status calling a game was up in the air:
"It’s in my deal. Where are you hearing that from? That’s part of my deal. Are you hearing something that I’m not hearing?”
The broadcaster exited as the lead play-by-play announcer for the network last year after spending nearly two decades there. NBC gave Michaels an emeritus role following his exit.
His performance with Tony Dungy calling the AFC Wild Card game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Jacksonville Jaguars last season was criticized. This could have played a role in the decision.
He is tied with the great Pat Summerall in calling 11 Super Bowls on television, his last one with NBC coming in the 2021 season.
Al Michaels and his status with Thursday Night Football
Al Michaels signed with Amazon last March to call Thursday Night Football alongside Kirk Herbstreit. The deal was reportedly three years worth between $500K and $1 million per game. He seemed to have squashed any rumors of hanging up the headphones in that same interview with The Post:
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m doing next year. There’s no question about that in my mind.”
If anyone deserves the right to leave the booth on his own terms, it's Michaels, as he called over 400 NFL games and in the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. For now, fans can enjoy his work on Thursdays for the foreseeable future if Michaels has his way.
