Michele Tafoya will leave NBC following Super Bowl LVI

Michele Tafoya will work her final NBC Sunday Night Football game at Super Bowl LVI on February 13.

“My time with NBC Sports has been the most satisfying of my career. 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,” Michele said.

“The list of people to thank is incredibly long, but for now, I will say I am immeasurably grateful to Fred Gaudelli, Drew Esocoff, Al Michaels, and Cris Collinsworth. They are the backbone of the Sunday Night Football family.

“Some may consider me crazy to walk away from one of the more coveted roles in sports television, and I do not doubt that I will miss many aspects of the job. But for some time, I have been considering other areas I would like to explore both personally and professionally.

“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!”

Michele will work her fifth Super Bowl, and 327th NFL game, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California – less than 10 miles from where she grew up in Manhattan Beach.

She joined NBC Sports and Sunday Night Football in 2011, and in her first year with NBC, she was awarded the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality – Sports Reporter. She earned the honor again following the 2013, 2018 and 2020 NFL seasons.

Michele has covered a wide range of sports beyond the NFL. At the Tokyo Olympics and Rio Olympics, she was assigned to the swimming venue, providing reports and conducting interviews with athletes including record-setting Olympic champions Michael Phelps, Katie Ledecky and Caeleb Dressel.

Her colleague, Al Michaels, paid tribute saying: “Michele Tafoya is the perfect broadcast partner. I’ve worked with Michele on both the NFL and NBA on close to 350 telecasts and she always hits it out of the park.

“Her preparation is unmatched and her ability to convey what she’s addressing in the moment is flawless.”