There are some sideline reporters who feel like background noise, faces you recognize but don’t quite remember. And then there’s Kaylee Hartung, who shows up with the calm confidence of someone who understands that the most important moments in sports don’t always happen between the whistles.
Get to Know Super Bowl Sideline Reporter Kaylee Hartung
Born in 1985, Kaylee Hartung is 40 years old. She grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a place that leaves its imprint of warmth and an appreciation for community behind. Her childhood, however, was shaped by an experience that would later define her approach to journalism.
In May 1996, her father, Joe Hartung, a pilot who had previously served in the Royal Netherlands Air Force and later founded an aviation company in the U.S., was killed in a plane crash during an air show.
She has shared that watching how the accident was covered made her actually aware of the power and responsibility of storytelling. Journalism, she realized, could either flatten someone’s worst day into a headline or honor it with care. She chose the latter.
Hartung attended Episcopal High School, graduating in 2003, before heading north to Washington and Lee University. There, she received her degrees in journalism and politics, graduating in 2007. She wasn’t interested in staying in a single lane, as her early career reflected her curiosity.
She worked as a reporter for CBS News on “Washington Unplugged” and became a featured correspondent for “Unplugged Under 40.” After a summer internship with NBC, she found herself working closely with Bob Schieffer, eventually becoming associate producer on “Face the Nation.”
Sports came next, though not as a detour. At ESPN, Hartung was a correspondent for both the Longhorn Network and the SEC Network, where she learned how to tell stories in fast-moving environments. In 2017, she joined CNN, expanding her reach into national and international news. Two years later, she moved to ABC News as a correspondent.
In July 2022, Hartung returned to sports broadcasting in a big way when Amazon Prime Video announced her as a sideline reporter for “Thursday Night Football.” In January 2023, she joined “The Today Show” as a national correspondent for NBC News and soon became part of NBC Sports’ NFL coverage, including playoff games and Super Bowl assignments.
In the present, before the Super Bowl on Sunday, she was asked how she stays authentic on the sidelines.
She replied, via 2KUTV:
“I think part of it has to do with the fact that this is a business of relationships. So, get to spend time and build your relationships over the course of my career with these coaches, players, with the guys on the PR staff, they all know who I am.
“So, I wanna be that exact same person when I’m in front of the camera or behind it. I think a lot of people can smell a fake when they see it and nothing could discredit me more as a reporter if I wasn’t authentic to myself and authentic to the people who know me.”
The Super Bowl will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. ET at Levi’s Stadium.
