NBC Removes Al Michaels From NFL Playoff Coverage

Al Michaels will not be on NBC's NFL playoff coverage, the network confirmed to the New York Post on Tuesday.

Michaels had been named into an "emeritus" role at NBC following his departure in 2022 at the expiration of his contract. He then joined Amazon's Prime Video to serve as the play-by-play announcer for the property's "Thursday Night Football" package and has continued to do so this season alongside Kirk Herbstreit in the booth.

But the arrangement allowed for Michaels, 79, to return to his old stomping grounds for one of the network's two postseason games during Wild Card weekend, as he and ex-NFL head coach Tony Dungy teamed up for the Los Angeles Chargers-Jacksonville Jaguars thriller that featured a 27-point second-half comeback for the Jaguars.

Al Michaels

Al Michaels called "Sunday Night Football" for NBC from 2006-2021 before moving to "Thursday Night Football" on Amazon Prime.

USA Today reports Michaels and Dungy received criticism for their lack of excitement throughout that game, and the critiques have followed Michaels into the 2023 season − although the "TNF" slate does not always include the most exciting of games as players are performing on four days' rest.

Michaels, 79, maybe the greatest NFL TV play-by-player of all time, had a storied run at ABC and NBC calling prime-time football before moving to “Thursday Night Football” on Amazon Prime Video last season.

Next month, NBC has three playoff games. The network’s No. 1 team, Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth from “Sunday Night Football,” will handle two of them, including one that will be exclusive just to the network’s streaming service, Peacock.

When NBC has two games on the first weekend of the playoffs, its No. 1 college team, Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge, along with sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen will be on the call.