Hall of Fame broadcaster Al Michaels is taking a slow approach to the end of his career while working with Amazon Prime on Thursday nights.
Michaels will return to Amazon Prime in 2025, but anything beyond that will happen on a year-by-year basis, The Athletic reported Wednesday.
Michaels originally signed a three-year contract with Amazon Prime worth $15 million per year, but it is slated to expire after this season.
Michaels has faced criticism for lacking excitement on big-time calls and his chemistry with analyst Kirk Herbsreit — especially in their early days as partner — has been questioned.
However, Michaels told The Post’s Ryan Glasspiegel that he was excited for the 2024 season because the slate of Thursday games was much better than in years past.
“Early on, the first year, it was not so much my displeasure with the actual schedule but the way the games were turning out. We had that Indianapolis-Denver game and a Washington-Chicago game and they were not games that will ever be remembered by NFL Films,” Michaels said.
“Last year was considerably better, and this year is even better than that — by far the best of all, and I think a lot of it has to do with where the business is right now. Streaming is more and more important.”
Michaels, 80, began his career as a Lakers radio commentator in 1967 and spent most of his career with NBC, with his famous “Do you believe in miracles” call while broadcasting the 1980 Olympics hockey as the USA defeated Russia being one of the highlights of his career.
Streaming has become a significant part of the NFL broadcasting puzzle, as Netflix and Peacock air a solid number of marquee games, including Black Friday and Christmas Day.
