It would be challenging growing up in a college town like Baton Rouge and not being a sports fan. So, while Kaylee Hartung’s media career hasn’t always been sports-related, so to speak, the sideline reporter for Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football has found a way to blend her passions for both sports and news into an enviable career.
Hartung admits that she never thought the NFL would be on her radar as she embarks on her third season working alongside Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit. She grew up an LSU Tigers fan; the New Orleans Saints were kind of just there. For so long, she had been covering college sports and the NFL wasn’t on her mind.
“The older I got and the more entrenched I got in the industry, I was like, ‘Man, that’s like really where it’s at.’ I was so set on eventually ending up in news that when those opportunities came to me from CNN to ABC News, I was so thrilled,” Hartung told Awful Announcing in a phone interview recently. “People would always ask me after I left ESPN, ‘Do you miss covering sports?’ And I would say without hesitation, ‘Yes, of course I do; it’s so much fun.’ Especially when you go from covering the best days in people’s lives to then winding up at CNN, covering death, despair, and destruction and showing up at mass shootings and natural disasters only on the worst days of people’s lives.
“But I knew that I wanted the right opportunity to get back into sports, and I’m still pinching myself that I find myself in this incredible situation to get to do The Today Show and still continue to cover the news. And to also be doing Thursday nights with Amazon with the most fun group of people I’ve ever gotten to work with. And really recognizing from the business side of sports how many eyeballs are on the NFL and the passion that exists there.”
When Amazon first offered her the job, Hartung initially hesitated. She was worried about leaving behind the established news career she’d built. But ultimately, the opportunity was too good to pass up.
As it turns out, she didn’t have to choose between sports and news. Being an NFL sideline reporter for Amazon’s TNF and a contributing correspondent for The Today Show and NBC News is the perfect blend of both worlds
“It ended up being just a beautiful, professional marriage… NBC and Amazon have made this possible in a way that I think is very rare in the media world, to get to balance two different jobs with two different organizations,” she adds. “But they’ve been so wonderful and so supportive. I think it’s been a really welcome surprise to me… At the end of the day, I’m truly appreciative and grateful that it’s worked out as well as it has.”
Of course, this means a hectic schedule for Hartung, with constant travel and work throughout the fall. “Now, it means a lot of juggling and even more time on airplanes,” she admitted. “It’s sort of a seven-day-a-week job in the fall, but it’s the coolest job in the world, and I feel super lucky.”
Reflecting on how it all started, Hartung expressed surprise at the initial call from Amazon.
“No one was more surprised than me when I got the call that they were building up their Thursday night crew,” she said. “I hadn’t been in sports in five years, but they wanted to be intentional about the team they put together. Everyone gets along so well, and there’s a ‘no asshole policy’ that I really appreciate.”
“When I had my very first meeting with Jared Stacy and Mike Muriano, they were actually kind of funny in saying to me, ‘Well, why would you want to do this?” considering I had a pretty good thing going at ABC News at the time. And I told them about how much I love being a part of the sports world and how much I missed it. I genuinely thought I could pull off doing both — and that was my goal. And it turned out that the way to make that work was with Amazon and jumping over to NBC.
“It was one of the best phone calls I’ve ever received to know that they wanted me to be a part of it. As I got to then spend time with Fred Gaudelli… his reputation preceded him. Out of all the meetings I’ve had in my professional career, I’d say I was more nervous for this meeting with Fred than I have for any other, just because I know how well-respected he is in the industry, and I thought it’d be a tremendous opportunity to work for him. Now, he’s one of the most important mentors I’ve ever had, and I feel so lucky to have him as sort of my coach in all of this.
“One of the things that Fred said to me in our first conversation was that he really appreciated my background and experience covering news because he sees the role of a sideline reporter as so important in really providing that context and newsworthy updates that he thought I would be an asset to the show in a way I found truly flattering. And that’s how I try to go about it. I think that it’s very much the same skillset whether you’re covering news or sports; it’s just a different form.”
Saquon Barkley will always remember his first win in South America. 🇧🇷 #FlyEaglesFly | @KayleeHartung pic.twitter.com/8wAGoVUWys
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 7, 2024
Hartung approaches her role with the belief that whether it’s news or sports, it’s all about telling meaningful stories and putting the people at the center. She enjoys the challenge of getting genuine, insightful responses from athletes and coaches in high-pressure situations, recognizing that her job is to bridge the gap between what’s happening on the field and the millions of viewers at home who are eager for answers.
“I think the challenge for me with every game is whether it’s the most fervent fan of the team watching or a causal fan who hasn’t seen a game and isn’t familiar with these players, like how can I tell them something interesting that they couldn’t know because they don’t have a front row seat to the game like I do,” Hartung said regarding how she views her role as a sideline reporter.
“A good example would be last year, during the Ravens-Bengals game in Baltimore, when Joe Burrow got hurt. I was actually able to see the first ball that he tried to throw once he got to the sideline before our cameras could get there. That’s my value in describing what I can see and you can’t. It’s being the eyes and ears of the broadcast on the field. It’s incredible how many cameras we can have and yet sometimes you’re at the right place at the right time.
“I was able to talk to Zac Taylor after halftime, and we made the decision in very real-time. I was supposed to be talking to Zac as he went into the half, and I was gonna get (John) Harbaugh as he came out from the half, but I recognized Zac’s not going to have anything to tell me; he will not have spoken to Joe if I get him as he’s walking off the field. I need to give Zac more time to maybe, hopefully, get some nugget of information to give us more understanding of what’s happening with Joe, so let me flip-flop these scenarios.
“And so, in doing that, I was able to talk to Zac off-camera as he came out of the locker room and then give a report that I would like to think really informed viewers as best we could of Joe’s status. I think there’s tremendous value in this role, and I’m very proud to be in it. I’m a firm believer in letting my work speak for itself, and I hope that I enhance a viewer’s experience if they’re watching a game because there are so many different layers of it.
Team USA track and field stars ready to shine at the Paris Olympics! @KayleeHartung reports and @allysonfelix shares analysis 👟 pic.twitter.com/LlJ3B6L8cR
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) August 2, 2024
“I think injury reports are probably at the top of the list of importance and real value that you can add. And then, just another storytelling layer to help humanize these players and help fans better understand their journey. It’s a pretty cool thing that we’re able to do when people care as much as they do. But to give them even more reason to invest and care.”
Hartung will give viewers plenty of reasons to tune in on Thursday, September 12, when Amazon kicks off its Thursday Night Football season with the Buffalo Bills taking on the Miami Dolphins in Miami. Michaels and Herbstreit will handle the call, with Herbstreit juggling a packed schedule, just like Hartung, as he heads to Columbia, South Carolina, for College GameDay shortly after.
While working alongside Herbstreit and Michaels is only part of the experience, Hartung quickly emphasizes how special it is to collaborate with both of them.
“It’s so special, it truly is,” she says. “Just yesterday, for example, I got a text from Kirk in the morning; I got a call from Al in the afternoon… that’s how big of a part of my life they are. On a daily basis, it’s really just a casual check-in from them, which I appreciate so, so much. Our dynamic, I think, gets better literally every day that we get to talk and spend time together. I still am in a bit of disbelief when I hear Al Michaels toss it to me before every game; that will never get old. It will never be lost on me that Al Michaels is sending it down to me just before kickoff.
“Al comes at this with such incredible institutional knowledge of the league; he’s a true icon and a legend. It’s not an overstatement, and I don’t think anybody would think that it is… I worked with Kirk at ESPN; I’ve known Kirk certainly longer than I’ve personally known Al, but I’ve gotten such a kick out of being Kirk’s transition to the NFL because I know how deep his knowledge goes with these guys, like before they’ve even gotten on the NFL radar. And I think that Kirk brings such a unique and special blend to coverage of the NFL that no other analyst has. I know that particularly because I’ve gotten to see it.
“He’s a calm, cool, collected guy.”
Birthday boy, Hunter Henry, told our @KayleeHartung of the @Patriots QB. pic.twitter.com/JEFoJjQ5KQ
— NFL on Prime Video (@NFLonPrime) December 8, 2023
“On a much smaller scale, guys who I covered in college when they were stars in college are now stars in the NFL, from Dak Prescott and Derrick Henry. My familiarity and depths of relationships with those guys helped me feel more comfortable coming into the NFL when I felt like it was such an unfamiliar landscape. But knowing just that slice of seven years that I covered college football and had those relationships, Kirk’s knowledge and depth of relationship there is five times mine, almost literally.
“At the end of the day, the best part is that we all truly like each other and get along and want to spend time together. When you put our Thursday night crew on the road together… it is the most special group of people. There’s really a lot of love for one another and a lot of care… I know the term ‘family’ can get overused in work settings and culture and all of that, but it’s true. We’re a family unit, and the care that everyone has for each other, it’s special, it’s unique — no doubt about it.”
As they prepare for the Miami game, one of the highlights for Hartung is the genuine camaraderie they share, even down to production meeting notes, where Michaels, impressed by her typing speed, often praises her note-taking skills.
“There’s nothing more gratifying to me when Al or Kirk is like, ‘Hey, can you send me your notes from that meeting?’ she adds.
But there are plenty of gratifying moments in Hartung’s career.
From reporting on the biggest news stories to covering the NFL alongside legends like Michaels and Herbstreit, she has crafted a unique and rewarding path. Her ability to seamlessly balance her love for news and sports while working with people she admires and respects makes every long flight and busy week worth it.
The journey has been full of surprises, challenges, and accomplishments for Hartung, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She remains grateful for every opportunity as she continues to tell the stories that matter — whether on the sidelines of a game or in the heart of breaking news. And with the upcoming Thursday Night Football season, there’s no doubt she’ll give viewers plenty of reasons to keep tuning in.
