The NFL and Amazon Prime are returning for the fourth year of Thursday Night Football coverage. Who will be tackling the play-by-play commentary and the halftime show in 2025?
Who Are the Amazon NFL Announcers?
Al Michaels | Play-By-Play Announcer
Michaels has been on sports television since 1978 with quite an impressive résumé. From 1976-2006, Michaels was a fixture on ABC Sports for three decades, calling “The Miracle on Ice,” a handful of World Series, Monday Night Football, and some work in the NBA. After Monday Night Football moved from ABC to ESPN, the status of Michaels’ position was unclear.
Michaels is the only commentator to lend his vocal tones to the Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, and Stanley Cup. Michaels has raised the bar in announcing and has secured legendary status in the sports world.
While he originally planned to remain on the MNF broadcast, John Madden’s shift to Sunday Night Football on NBC influenced him to follow. In a deal famously called the “Oswald the Lucky Rabbit trade,” ABC allowed Michaels to join NBC in exchange for certain rights, most notably Disney’s Oswald character, which Walt Disney had lost in the 1920s. From 2006 to 2021, Michaels worked as NBC’s play-by-play announcer.
He is tied with Pat Summerall for the most play-by-play calls in the Super Bowl, a five-time Sports Emmy award winner, and a National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame member.
Kirk Herbstreit | Color Commentator
A former Ohio State QB, Herbstreit has become one of the most recognizable names in college football. Alongside his new duties as one of the Amazon NFL announcers, he’s an ESPN College GameDay analyst and provides color commentary for CFB games broadcast on ESPN and ABC.
Herbstreit is one of the most acclaimed color commentators in football history. Herbstreit has 14 Emmys to his name, and the duo of Michaels and Herbstreit rivals any production value in football.
Herbstreit has also been on the call for the NFL’s Monday Night doubleheaders the past two seasons. Like his cohost, Herbstreit has five Sports Emmys and was the voice of the in-game commentator for EA Sports’ NCAA Football.
Kaylee Hartung | Sideline Reporter
Hartung has bounced around the broadcasting world in various roles. After graduating from Washington and Lee University, she was a reporter at CBSNews.com daily on “Washington Unplugged.”
Hartung also worked with ESPN, mainly covering college football for the SEC Network. CNN hired Hartung in 2017, but she left in 2019 to join ABC News as a correspondent.
Hartung got her start as a contributing correspondent for NBC’s Today Show. She later held prominent roles with ABC’s Good Morning America, Nightline, and World News Tonight with David Muir.
Who Are the Amazon NFL Halftime Commentators?
Charissa Thompson | Host
Charissa Thompson began her sports broadcasting career in 2007 with the Big Ten Network and Fox Sports Net. In 2008, she worked her first stint as an NFL sideline reporter.
Thompson joined ESPN in 2011, where she co-hosted a show with Michael Smith called “Numbers Never Lie.” She would also fill in for hosting duties on SportsNation and First Take. Following Michelle Beadle’s move to NBC, Thompson would take over hosting duties for SportsNation.
Thompson would rejoin FOX Sports for the launch of FS1 in 2013 as the host of FOX Sports Live. FOX also gave her duties as a presenter for FOX NFL Kickoff.
Tony Gonzalez | Analyst
A 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Gonzalez is considered by many to be one of the greatest NFL tight ends of all time. He was a six-time first-team All-Pro and 14-time Pro Bowler, the most for a TE and the second-most in league history.
Gonzalez’s iron-man status solidified his impressive career — playing 270 of 272 games. He currently holds NFL records for the most career receiving yards (15,127) and most career receptions for a tight end (1,325).
After retiring in 2013, Gonzalez joined NFL Today, CBS’ NFL pregame show. In 2017, he transitioned from CBS to Fox’s NFL pregame show. He departed in June 2021 to pursue other TV and film projects before signing on with Amazon in 2022.
Gonzalez has earned acclaim for his work off the field, earning a 2020 Sports Emmy nomination for “Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly.”
Richard Sherman | Analyst
The Seattle Seahawks selected Richard Sherman in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He went on to become one of the leaders of the “Legion of Boom” and played a key role in guiding Seattle to its Super Bowl 48 triumph.
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Sherman played his final seasons with the San Francisco 49ers before joining Tom Brady for one final season in Tampa Bay.
Sherman left the NFL after the 2021 season but clarified he had not officially retired. He has been an active writer at The Players’ Tribune and was featured on the cover of Madden NFL 15.
Ryan Fitzpatrick | Analyst
A Harvard graduate and former quarterback for the Ivy League football team, Ryan Fitzpatrick was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the 2005 NFL Draft. Over his 16-year career, Fitzpatrick suited up for nine different NFL franchises.
The longest of his stints was in Buffalo from 2009-2012. However, his only winning seasons came in 2015 with the New York Jets and 2020 with the Miami Dolphins.
Fitzpatrick became the stopgap choice for several teams as a boom-or-bust field general. He was never hesitant to fire the ball downfield, but the results were not always pretty. This reputation earned him the nicknames “Fitzmagic” and “Fitztragic.”
Fitzpatrick holds the most career passing yards and touchdowns among NFL quarterbacks without a playoff appearance. He became the first quarterback in league history to throw for over 400 yards in three straight games and also carries the distinction of starting for nine NFL franchises, which remains a record.
Andrew Whitworth | Analyst
Andrew Whitworth retired after a 16-year NFL career that culminated with a Super Bowl 51 victory and the 2021 Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
A second-round pick in the 2006 NFL Draft out of LSU, he spent his first 11 seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals before finishing with the Los Angeles Rams. Whitworth holds the distinction of being the oldest offensive lineman to both play in and win a Super Bowl, as well as the oldest tackle ever to appear in an NFL game.
