Al Michaels reveals his choice for ‘Thursday Night Football’ in 2026

Al Michaels to Return for 2026 NFL Season

Al Michaels will be back in the booth for the upcoming 2026 NFL season. This was confirmed by Amazon Prime Video, where he has been a prominent commentator since 2022. The announcement, shared with Sports Business Journal, emphasized that Michaels, now 81, is “at the top of his game.”

“Honestly, I feel great,” Michaels commented. “The team at Amazon has been fantastic, and I really enjoy collaborating with everyone. I’ve been taking it year by year, and as long as I’m feeling at my best, I want to continue.”

Throughout his impressive 40-year career leading prime-time NFL broadcasts, Michaels is set to call the final game of the current season, which will be Saturday’s wild-card match between the Packers and Bears. The Brooklyn native, who has indicated a desire to keep hosting “Thursday Night Football,” mentioned that Prime Video has yet to finalize their plans.

“Right now, I feel really good. It’s been a good run and I’ve had a lot of fun working with this team. So, if I had to decide today, I’d definitely want to return,” he shared in a November podcast.

However, he acknowledged that things could change. “It’s a two-way street,” he noted. “They might decide that it’s time to move in a different direction, and that’s a possibility too.”

Interestingly, he’s expected to return even after facing some challenges keeping up during several games this past season. Michaels made the switch from NBC to Prime Video just ahead of the 2022 season when the platform first acquired “Thursday Night Football” rights.