Over the last several years, few broadcasters have been as controversial as Amazon Prime Video’s Al Michaels.
Michaels, who most recently completed a three-year, $45 million contract with the streaming service as the commentator for “Thursday Night Football,” has attracted significant backlash from fans throughout this period.
Several of his detractors have highlighted Michaels’ advanced age, noting that he turned 80 last November, as the reason behind what they perceive as confusing and/or irrelevant commentary.
Some have criticized the veteran NFL announcer for showing insufficient engagement and excitement during certain underwhelming games scheduled for the Thursday night slot each season. This happens because the league needs to distribute these short-week fixtures evenly across all teams to prevent clear disparities in competitiveness.
However, Michaels has seldom faced accusations of deceit, and his direct and factual approach was evident earlier this week when he spoke with Dan LeBatard for the latter’s spin-off podcast titled “South Beach Sessions.”
LeBatard inquired of Michaels, who stated in January that he was ”
leaning very heavily
Toward a comeback at the Amazon booth in 2025, possibly coinciding with a farewell tour during what could be his last broadcast season.
To start with, I’d find it humiliating to pull off something like that — traveling nationwide and saying, ‘This is Al’s final match.’ It doesn’t hold much significance for me.
Michaels responded
I reckon if I were a team’s commentator doing farewells, maybe then I’d go on a tour. However, my schedule has me bouncing around everywhere.
In 2025, Michaels is anticipated to traverse the country once more with co-host Kirk Herbstreit and will be working under a yearly contract arrangement with Amazon.
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