What happened to Al Michaels? NFL fans wonder as veteran caster misses Saints vs Packers

Widely recognised as NBC's voice of the NFL, Al Michaels was largely missed by fans during Sunday Night Football's coverage of the New Orleans Saints vs Green Bay Packers. Instead of the veteran sportscaster, it was Mike Tirico who partnered Jac Collinsworth for the play-by-play coverage of Sunday's game. Unsurprisingly, a lot of questions have been raised on social media, with fans wondering if this marks the end of an era for Al Michaels.

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What happened to Al Michaels? 

Michaels has not announced his retirement from being a sports presenter. The 75-year-old has, however, agreed to a schedule that will see him miss several crucial games during the season. As NBC announced at the start of the season, Mike Tirico will call some games in place of Michaels during the 2020 season, which the network branded as "bye week." Packers vs Saints was the first game that Tirico replaced Michaels, while the rest of the schedule will be handed on a week-to-week basis. The only game we know Tirico will be calling as of now is the Thanksgiving game between Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. 

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Per reports, NBC's plan is for Tirico to become the eventual successor to Al Michaels, the seeds of which were sown this past Sunday. Speaking to the New York Post, Al Michaels said he is on board with NBC's plans to slowly integrate Mike Tirico into the mix. Furthermore, Michaels said he helped in formulating the schedule, which offers him a lot of "West Coast games and a couple of byes during the season to cut down on some travel."

In addition, there have also been reports of other networks looking to lure Al Michaels out of NBC. The 75-year-old reportedly has only a year left on his current deal, which prompted interest from ESPN as the start of this year. While the latter's interest was rebuffed, it remains to be seen if Michaels finds a new broadcasting home at the start of next season. 

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Al Michaels net worth

Celebrity Net Worth estimates the Al Michaels net worth figure to be in the range of $30 million. The sportscaster made his name with ABC Sports, spending three decades with the network (1976-2006). Since leaving ABC, Michaels has been calling NFL games for NBC with longtime colleague Jac Collinsworth. In addition to the NFL, Michaels has provided coverage for MLB and the NBA. 

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Disclaimer: The above-mentioned Al Michaels net worth has been sourced from various media reports. This website does not guarantee 100% accuracy of the figures.

(Image Credits: AP)