Greg Papa is coming back.
The voice of the San Francisco 49ers has missed the entire regular season thus far while battling leukemia, and he was supposed to return last Sunday night for the Bears game before pulling out at the last minute. But on Saturday night, Papa plans on being in the radio booth at Levi’s Stadium for the biggest game of the 49ers’ season against Seattle, with the NFC’s top seed and a first-round bye on the line.
“I am planning on coming back tomorrow,” he told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco.
Absolutely great news!
Greg Papa, the Voice of the 49ers, plans on being back in the radio broadcast booth at Levi’s Stadium tomorrow night.
Papa has been waging a courageous battle with leukemia since mid-July. Getting back behind the mic is an incredible accomplishment.
— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) January 2, 2026
Greg Papa’s been fighting acute lymphoblastic leukemia since this summer, when he was diagnosed and hospitalized for 23 days. The 63-year-old stepped away from both the 49ers broadcast booth and his KNBR midday show, returning to radio hosting duties remotely by September while continuing chemotherapy. By mid-December, Papa was in remission and had been cleared by his doctors to return to calling games. The 49ers and KNBR announced he’d be back for the final two home games of the regular season, starting with last Sunday’s game against Chicago.
Then Sunday morning arrived, and Papa decided it wasn’t wise to do the game. He still needed more time to rest and build strength. Guy Haberman stepped in to call his eighth game of the season alongside analyst Tim Ryan, and Greg Papa waited one more week.
Papa still has a long road ahead. He’s got a bone marrow transplant waiting for him down the line, though doctors did find perfect matches in his older brother Ron and younger sister Judy. But for now, he’s doing well enough physically to handle the prep work that goes into calling a game while continuing treatment.
And after nearly coming back last week, he’s cleared to call one of the biggest games of the 49ers’ season.
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.