Michele Tafoya is leaving NBC Sports after the network’s telecast of Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13.
The departure of Tafoya, who has won four Emmy Awards as a sideline reporter, had been rumored for several weeks and was confirmed by NBC on Tuesday.
She began her career in sports media in 1993 and has been a fixture on “Sunday Night Football” since 2011. On Sunday, she’ll join Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth at Arrowhead Stadium on the call of the wild-card game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers, and it will mark her 325th game as an NFL sideline reporter.
“My time with NBC Sports has been the most satisfying of my career,” she said in a statement released by NBC. “I’ve had the good fortune of collaborating with a team that is amongst the best at what they do, and the support I’ve received in this position has been unparalleled.”
She did not specify her plans but said, “I couldn’t ignore that little voice anymore after what we have all endured over the last few years. There’s no better way to walk away from covering the NFL than with one more Super Bowl.”
Tafoya, 57, previously worked for CBS and ABC/ESPN. She also covered the Olympics and other events at NBC.
Kathryn Tappen, who filled in on Tafoya’s games off this season, will be a candidate to replace her on “Sunday Night Football.” Mike Tirico also is expected to assume the play-by-play role from Michaels in the 2022 season.
Tafoya’s three games off in 2021 came after controversial comments she made on “The View” about COVID-19 and former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
–Field Level Media