Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth will be on the call for NBC during Super Bowl LVI, in what may be the final time that one of the most successful broadcast pairings in league history does a game together.
For Michaels, this will be his 11th time serving as the play-by-play announcer for a Super Bowl, with the first coming when he called a Washington victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, which was played in 1988.
This will be the sixth Super Bowl that Michaels has called for NBC, and seemingly his last. The broadcasting legend's contract expires at the conclusion of this season, and all indications are that Mike Tirico will take over as the No. 1 voice of NBC's coverage of the NFL starting next year.
But while there had long been speculation that Michaels -- a Los Angeles native -- would retire after calling a Super Bowl in Inglewood, as we've gotten closer to that moment, it's become clear that's not what he has planned. The 77-year-old remains the best announcer in the sport, and unless he has a change of course, it appears he'll continue to call games next season.
The latest reporting from Andrew Marchand of The New York Post is that Amazon Prime Video continues to talk with Michaels about becoming the voice of Thursday Night Football next season, but without a deal set in stone, ESPN has pondered the idea of trying to lure him back to Monday Night Football. There's no indication that NBC is going to make a last second push to retain Michaels in his current role, even though he has been with the network since he and the late John Madden were the first announcers of Sunday Night Football beginning in 2006.
Collinsworth -- who succeeded Madden 2009 -- reportedly was "deep in negotiations" last month on a deal that would tie him to NBC through the 2025 season.
Beyond being the fifth time Collinsworth has been a Super Bowl color commentator, this year will be special for a few reasons for the 63-year-old. This will mark the first time that Collinsworth has been in the booth for a Super Bowl that doesn't feature Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Instead, the AFC Champions are the Cincinnati Bengals, the team he spent his entire eight-year NFL career with.
Related
While Collinsworth is likely to remain on Sunday Night Football moving forward, he may be the only part of NBC's No. 1 team that doesn't look different next season.
Long-time sideline reporter Michele Tafoya has announced that Super Bowl LVI will be her final game with NBC, with the plan being to pivot away from sports in some form. The 57-year-old has been the sideline reporter for Sunday Night Football since 2011. Prior to that, she had been the sideline reporter for Monday Night Football for seven seasons.
Tafoya's potential successor, Kathryn Tappen, will work on the opposing sideline during Super Bowl LVI. Terry McAulay -- who refereed three Super Bowls -- will be the rules analyst.
The Athletic's Richard Deitsch notes that NBC's "studio" coverage of the game will include the aforementioned Tirico, Maria Taylor, Drew Brees, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Chris Simms, Jac Collinsworth, Peter King and Mike Florio. Tirico will also hand out the Lombardi Trophy to the winning team, whether that's the Bengals or Los Angeles Rams.
Related
LISTEN NOW on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram