Al Michaels reveals whether he will retire early from Amazon contract
Dec 29, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Amazon Prime sportscaster Al Michaels walks on the field before the game between the Tennessee Titans and the Dallas Cowboys at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Al Michaels has faced some recent criticism from fans who feel he no longer has the same level of enthusiasm for his job, but the legendary broadcaster insists he is not planning to walk away from his current gig early.
Michaels is in the second season of a three-year contract he signed to call “Thursday Night Football” games on Amazon. Some have wondered if he could walk away after 2023, largely because there have been moments over the past year or two where he has seemed less passionate about his job. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post spoke with Michaels about that this week, and the 78-year-old cleared up any questions that exist about when he might retire.
“As far as I’m concerned, I’m doing next year,” Michaels said. “There’s no question about that in my mind.”
While he plans to return in 2024, Michaels does not want to say whether that will be his final season in the booth. He told Marchand he has no interest in a year-long celebration of his Hall of Fame career.
“No, I mean, Keith Jackson had one of those things and came back and did it another seven years. No, no, no, no, no. Look when I’m done. It’s the way John Madden was done. Two words and a contraction: ‘It’s time.’ I don’t need any parade or that nonsense.”
A lot of viewers felt some of Michaels’ calls lacked energy in his first season with Amazon. That might have something to do with the horrible games that have been shown on the streaming network. Though, Michaels did seem uncharacteristically flat during the Jacksonville Jaguars’ miraculous playoff comeback against the Los Angeles Chargers on NBC last year as well.
Michaels has also made some embarrassing on-air blunders this season. Still, he remains arguably the greatest NFL play-by-play announcer of all time. Amazon could do much, much worse.