Al Michaels has already committed to returning as the voice of Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football in 2025.
But what about after that?
That question came up Friday during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show, where Patrick likened the 80-year-old Michaels to a legendary head coach like Joe Paterno or Bill Belichick and asked if he’d continue broadcasting until his final days.
Not to be morbid or anything, but Patrick asks the difficult question — and he pressed on.
Michaels, however, wasn’t concerned with the idea of working into his twilight years.
“That’s not important to me. What’s important to me is enjoying it,” Michaels explained. “Anybody in any line of work who’s passed the regular — what we consider to be retirement age — I think if you have a passion for what you do, keep going. And I do, and my health is good enough right now. And I really love what I do. I love it. I love going to the games. I love broadcasting the games.
“I work with some phenomenal people — I can’t believe it’s been three years on Prime Video — and they put together a fantastic group. And I love being with them, and we have fun. We gathered last night after the game. It’s nine o’clock — West Coast game — and we’re all together having a blast afterward.”
“So, Dan, as long as I have the passion for it, I’ll continue. But I’m not sitting here going, ‘I’ve got to do this until I die, or I’ve got to set some kind of broadcasting record.’ No, not at all.”
Patrick then mentioned 91-year-old Hubie Brown, who will retire from ESPN after calling his final game in February 2025.
“Well, you know, Hubie was a partner of mine,” said Michaels. “I did the NBA for two years. So, the first year, ’03-’04 season, I did it with Doc Rivers. Doc went back to coaching in Boston, and I got Hubie the next year. He was a lot of fun. And God bless that man; he was a wonderful partner, and I guess he’s going to retire this year, but, God, I could listen to him forever.”
People still feel that way about Michaels, but based on his comments to Patrick, it doesn’t sound like he’ll grace the microphone for another decade or more.
Still, if he’s still enjoying himself at 91, who knows?
[The Dan Patrick Show]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.