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The NFL’s Super Bowl is a staple of American sports and is the most viewed television event annually. Thanks to the thrill of the game, entertaining commercials, and thrilling halftime shows, the Super Bowl is now viewed by over 100 million people yearly. With this kind of viewership, major TV networks take great pride in their broadcast of the entire event.
This includes the legendary Super Bowl TV announcers. Although there have been many great color commentators, only 11 people have had the honor of doing play-by-play on TV for the Super Bowl. In this article, we will cover the play-by-by commentators who have called the most Super Bowls in history.
When looking at the long history of Super Bowl TV announcers, we have to kick things off with Pat Summerall, who did the play-by-play in 11 Super Bowl broadcasts. This puts him in a tie with Al Michaels, who is still active today.
Pat Summerall was a former NFL kicker, who had his best playing years on the New York Giants in the 1950’s. After his playing days ended, he picked up the microphone for the first time in 1962 as a color commentator. However, it wouldn’t be until 1976 that Pat Summerall would make his Super Bowl play-by-play debut.
From there, Summerall announced 10 more Super Bowls, calling his final big game in 2002 to finish a legendary broadcasting career. He also covered a further five Super Bowls, 4 as a color commentator and 1 as a sideline reporter.
Although Pat Summerall had an amazing run as an announcer, he will likely be beaten out by Al Michaels when it comes to who has called the most Super Bowls. Michaels tied the record in 2022 when he called Super Bowl 56 and is still active today.
He will likely announce his 12th Super Bowl on NBC in 2026, which would officially make him the TV announcer with the most Super Bowls called. Although best known for his NFL play-by-play commentary, Al Michaels is also famous for his calls in other sports, like the “Miracle On Ice” at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games.
Dick Enberg covered 8 Super Bowls as the main play-by-play announcer, all for NBC television. He would be honored in the football Hall of Fame at the end of his career, and was one of the most recognized voices in sports. Besides announcing NFL games, Enberg also covered tennis, MLB, college basketball and the Olympics over the course of his broadcasting career.
In Super Bowl 58, Jim Nantz tied Curt Gowdy for fourth place with seven Super Bowls called. Nantz is one of the most beloved play-by-play announcers of all time, and his time calling Super Bowls is likely not over any time soon.
Jim Nantz is not only famous for his football commentary, as he has loads of experience calling March Madness basketball games as well as PGA Tour events such as The Masters. Listeners can identify Nantz immediately when a broadcast begins, thanks to his famous opening phrase, “Hello, friends”, which he uses as a way to connect to his late father.
Curt Gowdy called the very first Super Bowl, and would go on to add a further five to his resume over the years. As a pioneering Super Bowl announcer with NBC, Gowdy would set the tone for future play-by-play calls of the big game. Super Bowl I was the first and only championship game broadcast simultaneously by two networks, with Ray Scott calling the game on CBS at the same time. This is because NBC had the rights to AFL games with CBS partnered up with the NFL, and this was the first time the two leagues met in a final.
Joe Buck comes from sports announcing royalty, since his dad Jack Buck was known as a legendary baseball play-by-play caller and is regarded as an all-time great. Buck Senior also called Super Bowl IV for CBS. Three of the four Super Bowls called by Joe featured the New England Patriots, famously in Super Bowl XLII when his call of David Tyree’s ‘helmet catch’ was regarded as somewhat lackluster. Joe Buck was also the youngest play-by-play announcer to cover the Super Bowl, as he was just 34 years old when he called Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 between the Patriots and the Rams.
Over the years Joe has grown into an established and popular broadcaster, and his partnership with Troy Aikman is often regarded as one of the best in the business. With ESPN due to broadcast the 2026 Super Bowl (along with ABC) no doubt Buck will add to his quota of calls in the coming years.
Super Bowl LIX is due to take place on February 9, 2025, at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Fox has the broadcast rights so if their number one team announces the game then we can expect to hear Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady calling the action, with Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi patrolling the sidelines. Fox Sports’ second crew is a solid line-up too, with Joe Davis and Greg Olsen ready to step in if the Burkhardt/Brady combo is overlooked for the big game. Burkhardt and Olsen called the LVII Super Bowl to universal acclaim, and we can expect to hear from one if not both of these announcers in February at the Superdome.
Here is a comprehensive list of play-by-play announcers for each Super Bowl broadcast on national television in the United States, from Super Bowl I to Super Bowl LVIII:
| Super Bowl | Year | Network | Play-by-Play Announcer |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | 1967 | CBS | Ray Scott/Curt Gowdy |
| II | 1968 | CBS | Ray Scott |
| III | 1969 | NBC | Curt Gowdy |
| IV | 1970 | CBS | Jack Buck |
| V | 1971 | NBC | Curt Gowdy |
| VI | 1972 | CBS | Ray Scott |
| VII | 1973 | NBC | Curt Gowdy |
| VIII | 1974 | CBS | Ray Scott |
| IX | 1975 | NBC | Curt Gowdy |
| X | 1976 | CBS | Pat Summerall |
| XI | 1977 | NBC | Curt Gowdy |
| XII | 1978 | CBS | Pat Summerall |
| XIII | 1979 | NBC | Curt Gowdy |
| XIV | 1980 | CBS | Pat Summerall |
| XV | 1981 | NBC | Dick Enberg |
| XVI | 1982 | CBS | Pat Summerall |
| XVII | 1983 | NBC | Dick Enberg |
| XVIII | 1984 | CBS | Pat Summerall |
| XIX | 1985 | ABC | Frank Gifford |
| XX | 1986 | NBC | Dick Enberg |
| XXI | 1987 | CBS | Pat Summerall |
| XXII | 1988 | ABC | Al Michaels |
| XXIII | 1989 | NBC | Dick Enberg |
| XXIV | 1990 | CBS | Pat Summerall |
| XXV | 1991 | ABC | Al Michaels |
| XXVI | 1992 | CBS | Pat Summerall |
| XXVII | 1993 | NBC | Dick Enberg |
| XXVIII | 1994 | NBC | Dick Enberg |
| XXIX | 1995 | ABC | Al Michaels |
| XXX | 1996 | NBC | Dick Enberg |
| XXXI | 1997 | FOX | Pat Summerall |
| XXXII | 1998 | NBC | Dick Enberg |
| XXXIII | 1999 | FOX | Pat Summerall |
| XXXIV | 2000 | ABC | Al Michaels |
| XXXV | 2001 | CBS | Greg Gumbel |
| XXXVI | 2002 | FOX | Pat Summerall |
| XXXVII | 2003 | ABC | Al Michaels |
| XXXVIII | 2004 | CBS | Greg Gumbel |
| XXXIX | 2005 | FOX | Joe Buck |
| XL | 2006 | ABC | Al Michaels |
| XLI | 2007 | CBS | Jim Nantz |
| XLII | 2008 | FOX | Joe Buck |
| XLIII | 2009 | NBC | Al Michaels |
| XLIV | 2010 | CBS | Jim Nantz |
| XLV | 2011 | FOX | Joe Buck |
| XLVI | 2012 | NBC | Al Michaels |
| XLVII | 2013 | CBS | Jim Nantz |
| XLVIII | 2014 | FOX | Joe Buck |
| XLIX | 2015 | NBC | Al Michaels |
| 50 | 2016 | CBS | Jim Nantz |
| LI | 2017 | FOX | Joe Buck |
| LII | 2018 | NBC | Al Michaels |
| LIII | 2019 | CBS | Jim Nantz |
| LIV | 2020 | FOX | Joe Buck |
| LV | 2021 | CBS | Jim Nantz |
| LVI | 2022 | NBC | Al Michaels |
| LVII | 2023 | FOX | Kevin Burkhardt |
| LVIII | 2024 | CBS | Jim Nantz |
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.