Up to date Sept. 17, 2026, 8:48 p.m. ET
Al Michaels has sturdy emotions about retirement excursions.
“Don’t want one,” he advised USA TODAY Sports activities by cellphone final week. “Don’t need one.”
When Michaels, Amazon’s “Thursday Night time Soccer” play-by-play announcer for Prime Video, hangs it up – that’ll be merely be it. However that point has not but arrived.
In truth, Michaels has one other piece of historical past to make. His name of the Buffalo Payments’ dwelling opener towards the Detroit Lions on Sept. 17 would be the tenth time in his profession he calls the primary regular-season sport from a brand new stadium – a 3rd of the NFL’s venues.
“I ought to carry my very own scissors with me to chop the ribbon,” Michaels joked.
However the Payments-Lions matchup marks the primary time he’s inaugurating a stadium with Amazon after years of calling each “Monday Night time Soccer” for ABC and “Sunday Night time Soccer” for NBC.
“Of the entire years on Sunday and Monday, we had so most of the premiere video games,” Michaels mentioned. “So the league needed us to open a stadium underneath the intense lights both Monday evening or Sunday evening – and that’s the case right here too. So it’s form of a supply of satisfaction right here that the league thought they’d open up the brand new one in soccer on ‘Thursday Night time Soccer.’ I’m enthusiastic about it.”
On stability, the caliber of video games the league has given to Amazon has improved year-over-year, Michaels mentioned.
“After we began out, the schedule was OK. And now the schedule was glorious,” he mentioned.
The streaming service ended up with probably the greatest video games of the 2025 common season when the Rams misplaced to the Seattle Seahawks in a sport that ended up deciding the NFC West.
Different video games Michaels has circled on Amazon’s schedule this season embody a Week 6 tilt that includes Seattle at Denver, the New England Patriots dealing with the Chicago Bears the next week and the Rams internet hosting the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs in December. The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals have the New 12 months’s Eve highlight Dec. 31.
“You by no means understand how they’re going to prove, clearly, however while you have a look at our schedule … you’ll be able to’t ask for rather more than that,” Michaels mentioned.
Highmark Stadium one other first for Al Michaels
One of many facets of the job Michaels nonetheless enjoys essentially the most is the excitement whereas arriving on the stadium. The power from the followers reminds him of rising up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and strolling to Ebbets Discipline for Dodgers video games.
“I nonetheless get a cost out of it,” mentioned Michaels, who’s coming into his fifth season calling “TNF” alongside Kirk Herbstreit. “And that is going to be lots of enjoyable on Thursday evening for me.”
The 9 different stadium “firsts” for Michaels have some memorable moments, such because the opening of SoFi Stadium, dwelling of the Los Angeles Chargers and Rams, to no crowd due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He additionally noticed the New York Giants knock off the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium’s opener, and, for his first opener, he watched the Denver Broncos host the Giants on Sept. 10, 2001.
Michaels, 81, and Herbstreit acquired a tour of the brand new Highmark Stadium the day earlier than the sport. Even previous to that, Michaels had an concept of the sales space’s structure and his sightlines due to detailed pictures despatched to him by the crew.
“I’m not anticipating points,” Michaels mentioned, whereas he famous the press the stadium acquired through the preseason for seats that had obstructed views.
Most trendy stadiums, Michaels mentioned, are constructed with the tv product in thoughts, which helps.
One of the best vantage level within the league, based on the five-time Sports activities Emmy Award winner, belongs to Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas Metropolis. He joked that he doesn’t even want a monitor subsequent to him whereas calling video games there. Previous Candlestick Park in San Francisco was essentially the most tough task as a result of the soccer press field was virtually “trying down on the blimp, that was horrible,” Michaels mentioned.
How Amazon’s Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit partnership seems in 12 months 5
Whereas Michaels maintains he’ll do the job so long as he can and any person pays him to take action, he doesn’t have singular company in figuring out his broadcasting future.
Michaels and Herbstreit, based on a number of reviews, have entered the ultimate yr of their contracts. ESPN’s Joe Buck not too long ago reupped on a new deal that pays him $18 million yearly and retains him on the community into the 2030s.
Michaels mentioned his relationship with Herbstreit has solely grown over the handfuls of video games they’ve now labored facet by facet. He knew his associate was extremely ready from the start, and Michaels marvels at Herbstreit’s schedule throughout fall weekend and the stamina required to name the NFL sport Thursday evening, fly for “School GameDay” prep, do this present Saturday morning and name the marquee school soccer sport of the week that evening.
“By means of the years, we’re working higher and higher, there’s no query about it,” Michaels mentioned, including: “I believe we’ve developed a very good partnership.”
What Michaels appreciates about Herbstreit is that the latter meets Michaels on the play-by-play man’s desired levity scale. Michaels is a believer in injecting that into each broadcast.
“Simply sufficient,” he mentioned. “I in all probability have a unusual humorousness … a little bit of a rascal in me as nicely, and he’s performed alongside like a fantastic sidekick, once I go in that course.”
Herbsreit’s relationships with gamers that date again to his time calling their school video games paid off instantly in Michaels’ eyes. Michaels may ask him one thing a couple of rookie and he may expertly give him an anecdote or evaluation from the participant’s school profession.
“I believed he had a bonus, particularly early on, as a result of he knew all of the (rookies and second-year gamers) higher than a lot of the broadcast groups … so I believe in that sense, it’s been an incredible benefit for him,” Michaels mentioned. “And now he’s fully-ingrained within the NFL.”
Al Michaels not fascinated by retirement from broadcasting
When requested how for much longer Michaels needed to maintain calling video games, he let loose a chuckle.
“I’m dwelling within the second. They’ve been asking me this for 10, 12, 15 years, no matter it’s been,” Michaels mentioned. “And I say ‘You recognize what? I’m dwelling within the second.’”
Michaels advised the well-known story involving Marv Levy, who was the longtime coach of the Buffalo Payments. Throughout a manufacturing assembly, Michaels broached the topic with Levy.
“If you consider retiring,” Levy advised him, “you’re already retired.”
Michaels used that story on the air that evening. The message has caught with him all these years later.
“Look, let’s put it this manner – I nonetheless have a ardour for it,” Michaels mentioned. “Should you lose your ardour, then it’s time to go. Should you nonetheless have ardour, it could be time to go anyway, however not since you’ve misplaced your ardour. I nonetheless have that keenness. I look ahead to going for the video games.”
Forty-one years on the job, he nonetheless will get a thrill.
“It’s so simple as that,” Michaels mentioned.
John Madden, Michaels’ associate from at each ABC and NBC within the 2000s, didn’t conduct a retirement tour. The duo referred to as Tremendous Bowl 43 between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals. Michaels walked out of the sales space considering to himself, “Man, that’s nearly as good because it will get.” He didn’t realize it was Madden’s final sport. Neither did Madden, Michaels believed. Madden quietly retired that April.
“You don’t want a farewell tour,” Michaels mentioned.
“It’s not that you could’t take into consideration the previous or the longer term. However I desire to reside within the second, within the current.”
