Al Michaels wanted to know what FOX might offer him after Joe Buck left. That is why it took so long for him to finally sign on the dotted line with Amazon. It turns out that FOX didn’t plan to make the broadcasting legend an offer at all according to The New York Post.
“After Buck left,” writes Andrew Marchand, “Michaels and his representatives reached out to Fox to see whether it would want him, according to sources, but FOX, with two of the next three Super Bowls, has been inclined to go with Kevin Burkhardt.”
While Burkhardt has been the favorite all along to replace Joe Buck at the top of the FOX NFL totem pole, no official announcement has been made yet.
This report seems to indicate that the analyst spot next to Burkhardt in the booth is the last one open in the NFL’s broadcasting musical chairs. Greg Olsen, Sean Payton, Michael Strahan, and Drew Brees have all been identified as candidates for that role.
No need to weep for Al Michaels. Despite FOX not creating competition for his services, he still got big money from Amazon to join Kirk Herbstreit in the new Thursday Night Football booth. The 77-year-old gets a three-year deal that pays him “near the Joe Buck neighborhood” according to Marchand.
Buck is getting an annual average of $13 million per year in his five-year deal at ESPN.
