The Detroit Tigers will continue to use two of baseball’s top play-by-play voices for the foreseeable future.
Jason Benetti, the Tigers’ television play-by-play voice, and Dan Dickerson, the team’s radio voice, have both signed long-term extensions that will keep them in Detroit for years to come. Mike Mazzeo first reported the news in Sports Business Journal.
The Tigers wooed Benetti from the Chicago White Sox booth in 2024, and the beloved play-by-play man has helped transform the team’s TV booth alongside analysts Dan Petry, Carlos Peña, and Kirk Gibson. Benetti and Co. ranked seventh in Awful Announcing’s 2026 MLB broadcaster ratings, as voted by our readers, marking a complete turnaround in the booth’s perception versus 2023, the final season before Benetti, when the Tigers ranked dead last in our ratings.
Dickerson is similarly beloved among Tigers fans, with Awful Announcing readers calling him a “true pro’s pro” and complimenting his home-run call as one of the best in the business during this year’s radio broadcast rankings, which slotted the booth at 13th. The main knock on the Tigers’ radio booth was that Dickerson is forced to fill in on TV so often when Benetti has national assignments that it can disrupt the team’s rhythm.
Speaking to Sports Business Journal about the news, Ryan Gustafson, the President and CEO of Ilitch Sports + Entertainment, which owns the Tigers, praised Benetti and Dickerson as vital parts of the organization.
“This is the most important fan touchpoint that we have, and we wanted to make sure we were doing it right,” he said. “We’re excited to extend them because they’re the best at what they do. Our fans love them, and they’re tremendous human beings too.”
He continued:
“Whether we make the playoffs or go through a down year, our TV broadcast is tremendous, and allows us to entertain and engage with our fans throughout the season, no matter what our win-loss record is.”
As part of the new deal, the Tigers will continue to accommodate Benetti’s national schedule. The veteran play-by-play announcer is the newly minted voice of Sunday Night Baseball on NBC.
“A lot of people ask what kind of challenge that presents, and we just look at it as an opportunity,” Gustafson told SBJ. “The Tigers broadcaster is the No. 1 national voice on Sunday Night Baseball. It’s a good problem to have.”
Benetti was also recently added to NBC’s college football lineup, and appears in line to call the network’s top Wild Card series between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox next week.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.