Al Michaels has been calling sporting events for more than a half-century, and he’d like to keep his Hall-of-Fame run going for at least another year.
Michaels signed a three-year deal with Amazon to be the voice of Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football in 2022. When that contract expired, Michaels returned on a one-year deal, and it sounds like he already has his sights on calling Thursday Night Football games for Prime Video next season as well.
Prime Video’s NFL voice joined this week’s episode of SI Media with Jimmy Traina. And during the interview, Traina asked whether Michaels has thought about his career beyond this season.
“I feel really good right now,” Michaels told Traina. “It’s been a good year, a lot of fun. And as I said, I love the people I’m working with. So, if I had to make a decision today, I would want to come back. It’s a two-way street here, they could tell me, ‘Hey, we got to move on, it’s time to make a transition.’ That could happen. But as of the moment, as we sit here on this mid-November afternoon, I feel really good, still love what I do and work with a tremendous crew. Yeah, I think at this moment in time, yeah, I would like to continue. Yes.”
Michaels has had several unflattering moments in the booth this season, the worst of which occurred during a game between the Los Angeles Chargers and San Francisco 49ers last month, when he appeared confused by the ball advancing on a penalty and later botched a goal line call. Michaels might not be the announcer he was 10 or even five years ago with NBC, but the 80-year-old is still effective and a big enough name to warrant calling NFL games for as long as he can.
It remains to be seen whether Prime Video agrees and seeks to bring Michaels back on another one-year deal next season. One thing we can almost guarantee, however, is that Michaels won’t be signing another deal just to have a retirement tour. The iconic sportscaster ripped the idea of a farewell tour earlier this year, hinting that when he’s ready to walk away, he’ll just walk away.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com