A now-familiar face and voice when it comes to NBC broadcasts, Mike Tirico has become the go-to option for NBC sports coverage. Let’s take a look at Tirico’s history in sports broadcasting and his reported net worth.
Mike Tirico joined ESPN in 1991
At the age of 25, Tirico joined ESPN as a SportsCenter anchor, where he handled a variety of assignments. He was also the first host of ESPNews. His first football play-by-play experience with ESPN came on their Thursday night college football package in 1997, which he worked until 2002. In 1997, he also began play-by-play duties for college basketball (1997-2002) and golf coverage (1997-2015).
In 2002, Tirico moved from college basketball to ESPN’s NBA coverage. He was featured on their NBA coverage until he left the company in 2016. He also presented NBA games on ABC and was ESPN’s play-by-play announcer for the NBA Finals on their radio coverage.
Tirico became the play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football from 2006 to 2015. During his 10-year run in the role, he worked with Jon Gruden. The pair also worked together covering four Outback Bowls and two Orange Bowls.
Other events that Tirico covered for ESPN included anchoring the 2009 US Open Tennis Championship and co-anchoring the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and the UEFA European Championships in 2016.
Controversy at ESPN
Early in his career at ESPN, Tirico was reportedly suspended for three months for multiple incidents of sexual harassment. Since those events, Tirico has been described as having been “the consummate professional.”
Moving to NBC in 2016
Tirico moved from ESPN to NBC in the summer of 2016, with his first event for NBC being the 2016 Open Championship coverage on the Golf Channel. During that tournament, he served the role of play-by-play announcer for the Golf Channel and studio host for both the Golf Channel and NBC.
He was then the studio host and contributor for NBC’s Olympics coverage in 2016. When Bob Costas retired as primetime host of the Olympics coverage, Tirico was chosen to replace him in that role for the 2018 Winter Olympics. He will reprise that role for the 2020/2021 Olympics in Tokyo.
Tirico has been a key part of NBC’s football coverage
Tirico was initially tabbed to serve as the lead play-by-play announcer for NBC’s Thursday Night Football coverage. However, the NFL insisted that Al Michaels should be the announcer as he was NBC’s lead play-by-play announcer at the time. Therefore, Tirico would broadcast NBC’s preseason coverage and teamed with Dan Hicks on play-by-play Notre Dame coverage.
When Michaels requested time off during the 2016 season, it was Tirico who replaced him in the booth for three Sunday Night Football games. Tirico then replaced Micheals on all of NBC’s Thursday Night Football coverage in 2017. He was also made the full-time play-by-play announcer for Notre Dame football. In addition, he began hosting NBC’s Football Night in America.
After NBC lost the rights to Thursday Night Football, Tirico was made the play-by-play announcer for NBC’s Thanksgiving coverage. He was also utilized by Fox Sports on two broadcasts they produced for NFL Network. Tirico would then serve as a replacement for Michaels during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Michaels was given additional “bye weeks” in order to minimize travel, and Tirico replaced him in the booth for these.
Mike Tirico net worth
Tirico grew up in Queens, New York, and now lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his wife Debbie Tirico and their two children. According to Celebrity Net Worth in 2020, Tirico has a net worth of $6 million, with a reported salary of $3 million.
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Ben Rolfe is a content director at Pro Football Network and is also a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA). You can find him on Twitter @BenRolfePFN.