Mike Tirico, one of ESPN’s best known on-air voices, is leaving the network for NBC, according to several sources. Tirico has been a mainstay with ESPN since '91, and given his many roles at ESPN, he will be an incredibly difficult talent to replace. Tirico has been ESPN's on-air face of the NFL, serving as the lead play-by-play announcer for “MNF” since '06. A source says that Sean McDonough, who recently renewed his deal with ESPN, is a leading candidate to replace Tirico on "MNF," though no decision has been made yet. NBC would not comment on the move, with a spokesperson saying that the net does not comment on people under contract with another outlet.
A versatile broadcaster, Tirico also heads up ESPN’s second NBA broadcast team and will continue to call games through this year's playoffs, as his current deal ends this summer. He also has called college basketball and football games and led ESPN’s golf and tennis coverage. Tirico is expected to be the lead play-by-play voice on NBC’s new “Thursday Night Football” package of five late-season games. It is unclear what his other roles will be at NBC, where Al Michaels is the lead play-by-play voice for the network’s signature “SNF” package, and Bob Costas is an established Olympics host, having been selected as primetime host for a record 11th Olympics including this summer's Rio Games.
Michaels has two years left on his NBC contract, which runs through '17. NBC’s golf portfolio – the network has deals with the PGA Tour and British Open – also are attractive to Tirico, who is known to be a big golf fan. Tirico is repped by Sandy Montag.
Posted By: Karol Kruczyk
Thursday, April 28th 2016 at 12:37PM
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