Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, FOX Sports prepares for Super Bowl LIX broadcast with Tom Brady and Kevin Burkhardt in the booth, Reggie Miller is reportedly joining NBC Sports as its top NBA analyst, and more.
FOX Sports’ lead NFL announce team of play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt and seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady call Super Bowl LIX, marking Brady’s first Super Bowl broadcast in a return to the site of his first Super Bowl win. Erin Andrews, the first woman singularly honored with the Pat Summerall Award, and Tom Rinaldi, a 17-time Sports Emmy Award winner, report live from the field. FOX NFL rules expert Mike Pereira, former NFL Vice President of Officiating, provides expert rules analysis throughout the game, his sixth Super Bowl with FOX and 18th overall.
Before kickoff, Curt Menefee hosts FOX Super Bowl LIX Pregame alongside Pro Football Hall of Famer and four-time Super Bowl champion Terry Bradshaw. The duo is joined by Pro Football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion Howie Long; Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champ Michael Strahan; Pro Football Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl champion coach Jimmy Johnson; four-time Super Bowl champion and four-time All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski; and FOX NFL insider, author and speaker Jay Glazer.
Also joining the FOX Super Bowl LIX Pregame coverage are host Charissa Thompson; Pro Football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champ Charles Woodson; three-time Super Bowl champion Julian Edelman; four-time Pro Bowler Michael Vick; NFL insider/reporter Peter Schrager; FOX NFL reporter Kristina Pink; “The Manning Hour” host Cooper Manning; and the FOX Super Bowl LIX announce team of Burkhardt, Brady, Andrews and Rinaldi.
Over on FOX Deportes, the Spanish-language telecast will be helmed by award-winning host/reporter Rodolfo Landeros, renowned play-by-play announcer Adrian Garcia-Marquez, and analysts Jessi Losada and Jaime Motta.
On the digital side, Jameis Winston will be a FOX Sports digital correspondent for Super Bowl LIX. He returns to New Orleans, where he played for the Saints from 2020-23. Throughout Super Bowl Week, Winston will take fans through a tour of the Big Easy in a series of digital videos as he visits several of his favorite go-to spots.
Reggie Miller has finalized a deal to be one of NBC’s top NBA analysts when the league returns to the network later in 2025. according to Front Office Sports. He will call games alongside play-by-play broadcasters Mike Tirico and Noah Eagle. Miller has been an analyst at TNT, which is exiting the NBA package after this season, for 20 years.
ESPN has hired Udonis Haslem as a full-time analyst for its NBA coverage, according to Front Office Sports. The 44-year-old has signed a one-year contract to appear on studio shows such as NBA Today, Stephen A. Smith’s First Take, Mike Greenberg’s Get Up, and SportsCenter for the rest of this season, ESPN confirmed to FOS. The ex-Heat power forward has been appearing on its air for the last month or so and the deal could extend beyond.
Prime Video’s inaugural season of NASCAR Cup Series coverage will greet racing fans with familiar faces when the green flag waves over its exclusive coverage in May. Third-generation racer Corey LaJoie will join host Danielle Trotta to helm Prime Video’s pre- and postrace coverage, live and onsite each week. The streamer hits the ignition switch on its five-race Cup Series package at the Coca-Cola 600, in Charlotte, North Carolina, beginning on May 25th.
LaJoie and Trotta join Prime Video’s previously announced NASCAR broadcast booth consisting of seasoned race announcer Adam Alexander, who will work alongside NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Daytona 500-winning crew chief Steve Letarte.
Danielle Trotta, a veteran NASCAR journalist and key figure in the sport’s media landscape, joins Corey as host for the Prime Video team. With over 15 years of broadcast experience, Trotta has covered NASCAR, Indy Car, the NFL, NBA, MLB, collegiate athletics, Supercross, and Moto GP for some of the biggest broadcasting companies in sports worldwide. In addition to her dual hosting and reporting roles at Mecum Auctions on Motortrend and Max, she also hosts On-Track, airing daily on SiriusXM’s NASCAR channel.
Corey LaJoie, a third-generation racer whose father and grandfather are members of the New England Auto Racing Hall of Fame, joins the team with the most recent experience on the track. LaJoie earned his way to NASCAR’s top series through both the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and the ARCA Menards Series with nine combined wins. Additionally, 2023 was a career year for LaJoie with two top-5 and three top-10 finishes. He continued his success into 2024, competing with Spire Motorsports in the Daytona 500 before finishing the season with Rick Ware Racing. LaJoie also hosts the popular weekly NASCAR podcast, Stacking Pennies.
Additional talent and details to be announced in the coming weeks.
Poised for its 25th consecutive season of NASCAR coverage and its 22nd Daytona 500 broadcast, tying it for the most by any television network in NASCAR history, FOX Sports announces its broadcaster lineup for the 2025 Daytona Speedweeks and 2025 NASCAR season. Calling the Daytona 500 for FOX Sports on Sunday, Feb. 16 (2:30 PM ET, FOX), is play-by-play announcer Mike Joy, covering his 46th Daytona 500 for live TV or radio, alongside analysts Clint Bowyer, in his fifth year with FOX, and 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2007 Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick, entering his second season in the booth.
Longtime race analyst and two-time Daytona 500-winning crew chief Larry McReynolds, returning to FOX for his 22nd Daytona Speedweeks, partners with Joy, Bowyer and Harvick to offer analysis. Veteran reporters Jamie Little, Regan Smith and Josh Sims cover the stories from pit road.
Chris Myers, also working his 22nd Daytona 500 for the network, anchors FOX Sports’ expanded prerace coverage from the track in 2025. He is joined by analysts Jamie McMurray, a former Daytona 500 champion, Bowyer and Harvick, with two-time Daytona 500 champion Michael Waltrip offering reports from pit road. Veteran Rinaldi also will contribute to prerace coverage from Daytona.
In 2025, Joy, McReynolds and Myers celebrate their 25th seasons as FOX NASCAR broadcasters, each with the network since its first race – the 2001 Daytona 500.
On FOX Deportes, the Spanish-language broadcast is led by renowned play-by-play announcer Tony Rivera with Emmy Award winner Jessi Losada offering analysis.
For NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series coverage, Little will call the races with analysts Harvick and three-time and reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano. Sims, Smith and Amanda Busick report from pit road. For ARCA Menards Series coverage, Little will be joined by former driver and veteran broadcaster and analyst Phil Parsons and driver analyst Trevor Bayne. Busick and Kaitlyn Vincie cover pit road at Daytona.
Kasey Hudson, a former reporter with NHL and ESPN ties, has joined NESN as a general sports reporter. Her duties will include co-host of the network’s weekly women’s sports podcast, Respect Her Game, analyst on NESN’s daily sports podcast, Boston Has Entered the Chat, contributing reporter to NESN’s Unobstructed Views, and other general reporting.
Hudson spent eight years covering the Tampa Bay Lightning, and she most recently served as a contributor to SNY and a host and sports betting analyst for SportsGrid, covering both the NHL and NFL.
At Florida National News, Hudson was a sideline reporter for the Lightning from 2016-24 and also appeared as an in-studio host from 2022 to 2024, where she provided pregame, first, and second intermission updates and analysis. She has also hosted multiple NHL podcasts, including Kasing the League on BLEAV and Jolly Rogers & Touchdowns on Audacy.
Hudson began her career as a feature reporter for ESPNU Campus Connection, reporting on the University of Central Florida football team throughout college. Following graduation, she became the Associate Editor of Sports and Lead Sports Reporter for Florida National News, covering major events such as the Super Bowl, college bowl games, NASCAR, NFL, and NHL.
NBC Sports Bay Area contributor Bonta Hill, a 15-year Bay Area sports media veteran, has been named a fulltime multiplatform host, expanding his role across the network’s TV, streaming and digital coverage of the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants and San Francisco 49ers.
Hill will now serve as co-host, alongside NBC Sports Bay Area’s Warriors Insider Monte Poole, of the twice-a-week Warriors multiplatform podcast Dubs Talk, which delivers comprehensive team coverage, including in-depth analysis, breaking news and exclusive interviews with players, coaches and front-office personnel.
The longtime sportswriter, radio and TV host will continue to host Warriors Pregame Live and Warriors Postgame Live, his role since joining the network in 2020. He will now also contribute to Giants and 49ers gameday shows – which provide news, analysis, commentary surrounding games – and other programming.
In addition, Hill will regularly contribute written and video content covering the Warriors, Giants, 49ers and other Bay Area sports across the network’s website, NBCSportsBayArea.com, streaming platforms, and social media channels, including NBC Sports Bay Area’s YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.
Hill has served as a host for 95.7 The Game / KGMZ for eight years, most recently for The Morning Roast with Bonta & Shasky since 2022. Previously, he was a correspondent for the San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle, and held production and content roles for KNBR radio, Yardbarker and Bleacher Report.
The Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational Presented by EvoShield, ESPN Events’ owned-and-operated college softball tournament returns to the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Fla. for its sixth year. The four-day invitational – Thursday-Sunday, Feb. 13-16 – will showcase 16 teams, including six in the preseason top-25.
For the sixth straight year, ESPN will deploy an all-star commentator roster to call the non-stop action:
Field 8: Two crews will split calling the action for Field 8 – Sprouts Field at Eddie C. Moore Sports Complex. The Women’s College World Series finals trio of Beth Mowins, Michele Smith and Jessica Mendoza will reunite in the booth to kickstart the 2025 season. The voice of softball, Mowins, will call play-by-play with Smith and Mendoza serving as analysts. Mendoza is a four-time All-American at Stanford and two-time Olympic medalist, while Smith is a two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time All-American at Oklahoma State.
The additional Field 8 crew consists of Tiffany Greene managing play-by-play duties. She teams up with three-time All-American, SEC Player of the Year (2014) and Tennessee alumnus Madison Shipman.
Field 9: Matt Schumacker will handle play-by-play alongside Amanda Scarborough, the two-time All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year at Texas A&M.
Field 1: Play-by-play commentator Mike Couzens will announce the action joined by three-time Arizona All-American, three-time NCAA Champion and 1996 National Player of the Year Jenny Dalton-Hill.
Field 3: Play-by-play commentator Mark Neely will join 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Danielle Lawrie for the call. At Washington, Lawrie was a three-time All-American and NCAA Champion.
Pure Athlete has reached an agreement with Perfect Game for episodes of The Pure Athlete Podcast to be broadcast on PerfectGame.TV and the free PGTV app every Thursday at 6 p.m. EST. All episodes will be available for on-demand viewing at PerfectGame.TV and on the PGTV app following the initial broadcast. By featuring Pure Athlete on Perfect Game’s streaming platform, Perfect Game’s community will have access to insights and guidance from some of sports’ biggest names including Chipper Jones, Bobby Witt Jr, Mallory Pugh Swanson, Ryan Howard, Dan Orlovsky, Jennie Finch-Daigle, Austin Riley, Kerri Walsh Jennings and many more who are featured on Pure Athlete.
Pure Athlete’s mission is to create and deliver informational and inspirational content to help young athletes, parents and coaches successfully navigate the youth sports journey to become the best versions of themselves in sports and life.
