Joey Votto is finalizing a deal with NBC Sports to join the network’s MLB coverage, ending the speculation about where baseball’s most entertaining retired player would land.
According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, NBC is finalizing deals with Votto, Clayton Kershaw, and Anthony Rizzo to anchor coverage as it takes over Sunday Night Baseball from ESPN and returns to MLB for the first time since 2000. The network secured a three-year, $600 million deal last fall that includes exclusive Wild Card playoff rights.
The former Cincinnati Reds first baseman emerged as the top broadcasting prospect available this offseason. McCarthy originally reported in November 2025 that Votto was generating significant interest from NBC and Netflix, MLB’s new media partners, preparing to launch coverage in 2026.
We previously wrote that Votto could be baseball’s version of Tom Brady — albeit for Fox — someone perceived as stoic who revealed a completely different personality once microphones entered the equation. As a player, Votto wasn’t for everyone. But as a broadcaster, the pieces are clearly there.
Networks noticed. Votto told Dan Patrick in March 2024 that he’d received 10 times more analyst job offers than baseball offers that offseason. He turned them all down to sign a minor league deal with the Toronto Blue Jays and chase one more season as a player.
That decision delayed the inevitable by a few months. Votto retired last August after 17 seasons. According to FOS, ESPN had even considered building a Pat McAfee-style show around him years earlier.
As for the rest of Votto’s soon-to-be colleagues, Kershaw is nearing a deal to work a limited schedule for NBC. The 37-year-old three-time Cy Young winner will appear on select events like Opening Day, Labor Day, and Wild Card games. Rizzo joined NBC’s plans earlier Thursday, after it was previously reported that he was already on the network’s radar.
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.