Legendary play-by-play commentator Al Michaels will have a new home once the 2022 NFL regular season kicks off, as he finalizes a deal with Amazon’s Prime Video for Thursday Night Football, according to a report from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
Legendary NFL play-by-player Al Michaels is in agreement with Amazon Prime Video to lead its booth when it begins its exclusive coverage of Thursday Night Football in the fall, The Post has learned.
The big news comes after it was reported back in November that Amazon wanted to secure a “dream team” of Michaels and Troy Aikman. The tech giant did not get the duo they wanted, as Aikman and his Fox broadcast partner Joe Buck have taken their talents to ESPN, which locked the pair up for 5 years each with Buck making $75 million and the Cowboys Hall of Fame QB taking home $90 million.
According to Marchand’s sources, Michael’s new deal with Amazon will be “near the Joe Buck neighborhood,” which comes after months of deep negotiations with the streamer. The deal for the 77-year old broadcaster is expected to be for 3-years and it will pair him with Kirk Herbstreit, who Amazon signed to an 8-figure per year deal.
Amazon declined to comment, but Marchand’s report states an official announcement could be made as early as this week.
Adding Michaels to the booth will give Amazon instant credibility as Prime Video becomes the exclusive home of Thursday Night Football during the upcoming season. The streamer wants to add an exclusive Black Friday game, but the NFL isn’t keen on the idea, but if it were to happen within the next 3 years, it would be a big game for Herbstreit and Michaels.
Now that the booth of Thursday Night Football appears to be locked up, Amazon looks to shift its focus to acquiring the rights of NFL Sunday Ticket, which the company has been previously reported to be a frontrunner for. The tech behemoth has also had talks with the NFL to acquire a 49% stake in NFL Media, and that deal could also include Sunday Ticket. However, it won’t be an easy task, as Apple is looking to make a goalline stop and bundle the NFL Media package for their Apple TV+ platform.