Legendary Broadcaster Al Michaels Blindsided; Out of NBC’s NFL Playoff Coverage

The sports world is a cruel one and no matter how much one has given to it, nothing is guaranteed. The 79-year-old legendary sports and football commentator has been an integral part of the NFL’s coverage for decades now. But now he has been stabbed in the back, figuratively speaking.

Al Michaels has been the voice of Americans since 1971. After more than 3 decades with ABC Sports, he switched allegiances to NBC in 2006. But now it looks like he has no home left for the 2023-24 Playoff coverage, and he wasn’t expecting it!

Al Michaels: Left out in the dark

After covering the entire season for NBC and 3 weeks still left to go in the regular season. Michaels did not see this decision coming from the higher-ups at NBC. He got dropped by NBC for their playoffs coverage, something that he has been doing for almost 5 decades on radio and TV.

Learning of this decision, the New York Post reported, “In a move, he wasn’t expecting”, shedding light on the fact that Michaels was unaware of the decision. NBC has the rights to cover three playoff games next month and none of them will feature Michaels.

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NBC has decided Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth will be on duty for the two games. And for the weekend playoffs clash Noah Eagle and Todd Blackledge, along with sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen, will handle the broadcasting duties. The rumor mill has started as to why Michaels was dropped, but is there a Taylor Swift connection?

All legends eventually step down

Al Michaels jointly holds the record of calling the greatest number of Super Bowls on TV at 11. And it looks like he will not be able to break the record. One possible reason for that could be his reluctance to cover Taylor Swift during the games. Swift has become a staple of the football world and that has helped the NFL immensely. But Michaels did not feel the same.

Before the Broncos vs the Chiefs game, which was attended by Swift, Michaels decided to not pay much attention to her. He said, “Our crew talked about it this morning. You can’t make a sideshow the show. The vast majority of the audience are tuning in to watch a football game”.

Al Michaels also did not have a good relationship with the NBC executives. That relationship deteriorated further when Michaels joined the Amazon broadcasting crew. What do you think is the reason Al Michaels was let go? Let us know in the comments.

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