It has essentially been public knowledge since last month that Mike Tirico will be replacing Al Michaels as the lead play-by-play announcer for NBC "Sunday Night Football" NFL games after Michaels made the move to Amazon to call Thursday night contests.
Per The Associated Press, the NFL confirmed Tuesday that Tirico will be joining analyst Cris Collinsworth in the booth for the Sunday primetime matchups. Additionally, Melissa Stark will be handling the sideline duties in place of Michele Tafoya, who left NBC after the 2021 campaign.
The AP notes that Stark has experience in the role, as she served as a sideline reporter for ABC "Monday Night Football" games from 2000-02. As for the partnership of Tirico and Collinsworth, they've already called 19 regular-season and two preseason games together since 2016.
Tirico will be working his 17th consecutive NFL season, while Collinsworth will be starting his 14th campaign as part of "Sunday Night Football" broadcasts this September.
"'Sunday Night Football' is destination viewing and we are thrilled to have Mike, Cris and Melissa call the action and tell the stories that football fans have come to expect from primetime TV’s #1 show," NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua said in the official news release.
More must-reads:
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!