TJ Rives is stepping away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers radio network. After two decades on Buccaneers radio, he’s discusses his reasoning for his decision to the JP Peterson Show following the franchise’s hire of Tony Castricone in June.
What We Know: Rives spent 20 years as the Buccaneers’ sideline reporter, working under seven head coaches. He was part of the broadcast crew with Gene Deckerhoff for that time, and says he believed he was the heir apparent. Instead, the Buccaneers hired Tony Castricone away from the University of Washington, where he spent nine years as Director of Broadcasting. Rives learned of the decision in mid-June, during a family cruise, then chose to leave rather than stay on as sideline reporter. He explained his reasoning why in an extensive interview with JP Peterson.
What They Said: (all quotes via The JP Peterson Show):
TJ Rives on missing out on opportunity elsewhere because he chose to stay in Tampa Bay: “I could have been an NFL play-by-play broadcaster 15 years ago somewhere else doing something else. I could have, as recently as four or five years ago, two or three years ago, been doing it somewhere else. I love this area, and love what I was doing with the Buccaneers. So that’s the reason why I continued to do it and continued to wait.”
TJ Rives his interest was obvious in the role of Buccaneers radio play by play: “There was never any formal agreement that you’re [Rives] going to be the guy when Gene [Deckerhoff] is retired. But it is absolute fantasy land to not act like that is the reason why I remained, and it was understood he’s the guy. He’s the heir apparent. That’s the reason why I soldiered on in the role that I was in. It’s not something that, ‘They didn’t really know that you wanted the job.’ Who are you kidding?”
TJ Rives on the Buccaneers hiring a consulting firm for the hire: “Obviously, as March became April, and now we’ve [Buccaneers] hired a consultant. I am told you need to talk to the consultant in another market that has no idea who I am. I’m on the phone with a consultant who, three minutes into this, says you’re the ideal type candidate they’re looking for. No kidding. But I was told if you want to be considered for the job, you got to talk to the consultant.”
TJ Rives on the timing of the audition process: “This now dragged April into May. I’m being told you’re going to have a great chance to have the job. Then they decided to do auditions at the end of the month of May. At that point, truthfully, my family, people that were around me, were saying this is not good. You got to find something else. If they’re auditioning people at this stage, you need to be looking out for yourself.”
TJ Rives on how he found out the Buccaneers selected someone else: “Unfortunately, after my wife and my daughters and I had been on a Disney cruise for their graduation and their 18th birthday, I finally get the news in mid June. We’ve hired somebody else. You now have a decision to make about whether or not you want to stick around [as sideline reporter].”
TJ Rives on deciding to walk away from the broadcast team: “It’s not a money thing. I need to be doing play by play somewhere else. It’s time. They gave me a few days, and then I made the decision to leave. It’s not a situation where I was forced out.”
TJ Rives on the team not announcing his departure from the broadcast team: “There was no announcement. What ended up happening is they posted the sideline radio job where people could find it, and eventually reporters found it. That’s only for people on social media. It hasn’t really been announced anywhere else or talked about. I started to get inquiries: Are you going up to New York for the joint practices? People that still believed I was still part of the games.”
What Remains Unclear: The Buccaneers still have not named Rives official replacement with one pre-season game left. What Rives’ next steps could be are also unknown. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have not commented on Rives’ reaction.
What It Means: The saga shows loyalty doesn’t guarantee always mean promotion, even after 20 years of waiting. Now, Castricone steps into Deckerhoff’s chair without Rives’ institutional history beside him. Meanwhile, Rives heads into a new chapter, betting on himself elsewhere. For Tampa Bay, the quiet exit leaves fans piecing together a transition the team never fully explained.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.