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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.
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.
Coming in next for Super Bowl TV announcers with eight play-by-play calls is sportscasting legend Dick Enberg. His career spanned approximately 60 years, and he announced various sports, including baseball and basketball, on top of football.
Enberg stands alone in third place with his eight Super Bowl calls, and he was famously on the broadcast in which Drew Bledsoe was injured. This injury meant that Enberg was the first announcer to do play-by-play for seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
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.
Although the names listed above are at the top of the list when it comes to the most Super Bowl play-by-play calls on TV, there are a few other Super Bowl TV announcers we’d like to mention.
Jim Nantz will most likely pass him shortly, but Curt Gowdy announced seven great Super Bowls and deserves recognition. After Gowdy, we’d also like to mention Joe Buck, who trails Nantz and Gowdy with six play-by-play Super Bowls under his belt. Buck is just 55 years of age and loves his craft, so it is safe to assume he will climb up this list as time continues.
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.
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.