Who Are The Nbc Nfl Commentators?
Get to know the NBC NFL commentators, including Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, and Michele Tafoya.
Al Michaels
Al Michaels (born November 12, 1944) is an American television sportscaster. He is now the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s Sunday Night Football, joining in 2006 after spending nearly three decades with ABC Sports, where he was the longtime play-by-play voice of Monday Night Football.
Michaels was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey and attended local Hillsborough High School. Michaels later worked with legendary photographer Ozzie Sweet. Michaels began his career as a part-time sports writer for AS Rutgers University and later became sports director for WAAT in Newark, New Jersey in 1966.
In 1971, he was hired by Chuck Barris Productions to serve as a staff announcer on The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game. His persona on the former – “hashtag boy” – led to early appearances on NBC’s Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Joe Franklin Show. In 1972, Michaels moved to Los Angeles to begin his full-time broadcasting career as a news anchor and weatherman for KNXT (now KCBS-TV).
In 1974, he served as communications director for the World Football League’s Honolulu franchise. In 1977, Michaels was promoted to president of ABC Sports Radio Network Affiliates; and in 1980 he became Vice President of ABC Sports Affiliates Services, which were both created due to the advent of cable television carriage of sports events nationwide. He also collaborated on many memorable sporting events for ABC including baseball’s 1973 pennant race between the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates; joined Howard Cosell and Don Meredith on Monday Night Football broadcasts starting in 1977; called Super Bowl XVII in 1983; NCAA Final Fours from 1981 through 1987; The Masters from 1986 through 1988; Speedway Motorsports’ Indianapolis 500s from 1979 through 1988 (and again from 1997 until 2006); National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals from 1985 until 1989; several editions of Wide World of Sports (including Ann Meyers’ record 79-point high school basketball game performance in 1978); numerous figure skating competitions including Dorothy Hamill’s 1976 Olympic gold medal victory; horse racing’s Triple Crown races starting in 1986 (and continuing to this day on ESPN) among others.
Cris Collinsworth
Cris Collinsworth is a former NFL player who is now a broadcaster for NBC. He is a color commentator for Sunday Night Football, and he also co-hosts the network’s show Football Night in America.
Joe Buck
Joe Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary Hall of Fame sportscaster Jack Buck. He has been the play-by-play announcer for the World Series on Fox since 1996, and the National Football League on Fox since 1994. He also calls select Major League Baseball games for Fox and Fox Sports 1.
Troy Aikman
Troy Aikman is a former NFL quarterback who most famously played for the Dallas Cowboys from 1989 to 2000. He’s now a commentator for Fox NFL Sunday.
Howie Long
Howie Long is a former American football defensive end who played in the National Football League for the Oakland Raiders and Los Angeles Rams. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000. He currently serves as a commentator for Fox NFL Sunday.
