Fred Gaudelli has been lead producer of primetime football games for 33 years. He began in 1990 producing Sunday Night Football for ESPN, then going to ABC’s Monday Night Football where he began a partnership with announcer Al Michaels that lasted through NBC’s version of SNF and ended last year on Amazon’s Thursday Night Football package.
For his leadership on primetime football and influencing how we watch the games for four decades, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will bestow Gaudelli the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award this summer. Through his career, Gaudelli has had an on-air staff that has included Michaels, John Madden, Cris Collinsworth, Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann, Mike Tirico, Paul Maguire, Suzy Kolber, Michele Tafoya, Andrea Kremer and Melissa Stark.
In the Pro Football Hall of Fame announcement, Gaudelli noted Rozelle’s influence on the NFL on TV:
“I’m beyond honored and overjoyed to be named this year’s recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award,” Gaudelli said. “Pete Rozelle blazed the trail that enabled the National Football League to become America’s No. 1 entertainment entity. For 33 years and counting, I’ve had the privilege of contributing to that legacy by producing primetime games for four networks: ESPN, ABC, NBC & Amazon Prime. Joining former award winners – not to mention colleagues and friends including John Madden, Al Michaels, Chris Berman, Dick Ebersol, Howard Katz and Andrea Kremer – makes this honor the greatest of my career.”
Under his leadership, NBC’s Sunday Night Football has been the top primetime program for 12 years. Gaudelli has produced seven Super Bowls over his career. He will receive the Rozelle Award during the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement ceremonies in Canton, OH in August.
[NBC Sports Pressbox, Photo credit: Sports Video Group]
