Al Michaels has called football for 38 seasons and says he’s “leaning towards” coming back for a 39th, according to an interview with the Sports Media Podcast with Richard Deitsch. The legendary football voice says he’s healthy, Amazon wants him back, and he loves his co-workers, so he has no reason to hang them up right now.
“I am leaning very heavily [towards staying,] Michaels said via The Athletic. “I want to make sure, number one, I’m healthy enough, which I am right now. I want to make sure I still have the passion for it, and I know I do. I also love the people I’m working with. Not only Kirk and Kaylee Hartung, who I work with in the game presentation, but I love our pregame people…I still get excited walking into a stadium. I still love to do what I do. So why walk away?”
Many in sports media speculated that Michaels would retire following this NFL season, as his contract with Amazon ends at that time. While Michaels didn’t mention any details about a new deal, he said management is on board with it and looks forward to getting a new deal done before next season.
“Management is in favor of it, and they have been great, top to bottom,” Michaels said. “Andy Jassy (Amazon’s CEO) is a huge sports fan. I think he actually owns a small piece of the Seattle Kraken hockey team. His father grew up as a New York Rangers fan in my era. When you have that support from the top of the top, which Andy is, that makes it so much better for everybody else, and it works its way all the way down through the show, and we can all feel it.”
Michaels also touched on the sports media story of the past few years — Tom Brady on FOX. Michaels was supportive of the longtime NFL QB, saying that much of his criticism comes from those who are “jealous” of him.
“Jealousy is a very potent human emotion, and there are a lot of people that want to see Tom fail because Tom has everything, right?” Michaels said. “He’s got the resume in football. He lives a life that a lot of people would like to live. So he is going to take a lot of heat. My personal opinion… I think he’s done a very good job, and I think he’s gotten better and better, and I very much enjoy listening to him. He’s working terrifically well with Kevin Burkhardt, and I think they make a really good combination. I’m a fan. Knowing Tom, as I have through the years as a player and as a friend, he is going to work his ass off…He knows enough ways to figure out what’s going on.”
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