Legendary broadcaster Brent Musburger, known for his iconic voice and decades-long career spanning multiple sports, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Thursday.
The award, which recognizes exceptional contributions to professional football broadcasting, will be presented during the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week. Musburger will be honored at the Enshrinees’ Gold Jacket Dinner in downtown Canton on Friday, Aug. 1, and again at the Class of 2025 Enshrinement on Saturday, Aug. 2, at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. Reflecting on his career and those who helped shape it, Musburger acknowledged his former “NFL Today” colleagues.
“I just wish Irv Cross, Phyllis George and (Jimmy) ‘The Greek’ (Snyder) were here,” he said. Musburger credited the show’s cast, which later included Jayne Kennedy, as “the big reason I would be considered for the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award.”
Jim Porter, president and CEO of the Hall of Fame, along with Hall of Fame coach Dick Vermeil — a longtime friend and broadcasting colleague — personally called Musburger to deliver the news. The announcement left the veteran broadcaster stunned.
“I’m kind of thunderstruck,” Musburger told Vermeil, who worked alongside him on dozens of college football games for ABC Sports in the 1990s. “I never expected this.”
Musburger’s broadcasting journey began in Chicago, where he joined the Chicago American newspaper as a sportswriter while still a student at Northwestern University. After transitioning into radio as sports director at WBBM, he later took on the same role at WBBM-TV, before moving to Los Angeles to co-anchor the nightly news for KNXT-TV.
In 1973, CBS Sports hired Musburger as a play-by-play announcer. Two years later, he took over as host of “The NFL Today,” which became the highest-rated program in its time slot for nearly two decades. He remained with the show until 1990, working alongside notable personalities including Irv Cross, a 2009 Pete Rozelle Award recipient.
After leaving CBS, Musburger joined ABC Sports, later part of the ESPN family, where he continued to call college football and basketball, World Cup soccer, and served as a halftime reporter for “Monday Night Football.” He remained with the network for 27 years.
Following a brief break from broadcasting, Musburger returned as the radio play-by-play voice of the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders from 2019 to 2021. During that time, he also launched the Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN), a multichannel sports gaming network where he remains actively involved.
Over the course of his five-decade career, Musburger has called some of the biggest events in sports. His resume includes NCAA men’s basketball tournaments — he’s credited with popularizing the phrase “March Madness” — along with Indianapolis 500 races, U.S. Open and British Open golf tournaments, the Little League World Series, Triple Crown horse races and NASCAR events.
“The Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award recognizes broadcast excellence in pro football, and Brent Musburger certainly measures up to that standard,” said Porter. “Brent has entertained and informed generations of fans — across not only pro football but college football, basketball, Little League baseball, golf, tennis and other sports — with insights and some signature phrases that became a trademarked style.”
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