Al Michaels 'Thursday Night Football' Salary as play-by-play announcer divides fans

Al Michaels is one of the most revered announcers in the history of American sports .

The 79-year-old broadcast veteran has called 11 Super Bowls, first covering the Denver Broncos and the Washington Redskins face-off in Super Bowl XII 1988. Michaels is currently in his third season with new "Thursday Night Football" broadcaster Amazon Prime Video, inking a three-year, $45 million deal ahead of the 2022 campaign .

The 79-year-old has a reported net worth of over $40 million and earns approximately $1 million per game. For Amazon, the investment is minimal: the retail giants splash around $1 billion per season to carry the NFL.

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Ahead of the 2023 season, Michaels admitted he's on the fence about what his future holds. “I told Amazon that I'd do three years and next year will be three, and I'm definitely doing it," he told USA Today . "We'll see after that."I'm going to keep doing the job I love.

"I still love this job. I still get a charge out of going into a stadium and watching the best in the world do what they do. I'm still really happy so that's the big thing."

Michaels joined ABC Sports in 1977 to cover a variety of sports - he famously called Team USA's victory over Russia in ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics. "Do you believe in miracles?" he shouted as the Americans captured an unlikely gold medal.

He served as the lead play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football on the network from 1986-2006 before joining NBC. He would partner with Chris Collinsworth from 2009-2022 to form one of the most recognizable booths in professional sports.

Amazon's billion-dollar investment in the NFL did not net them a playoff game. Michaels, used to calling the biggest games, was allowed to join NBC's coverage of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2022 AFC Wild Card playoffs.

While the veteran broadcaster is responsible for some of the most iconic moments in the history of the NFL - including Malcolm Butler's goal-line interception of Russell Wilson in Super Bowl XLIX - he's had his share of senior moments in recent campaigns.

Michaels was on the call for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's concussion earlier in the 2024 season. As the Dolphins star came down from a tackle by Bills safety Damar Hamlin, Michaels couldn't help but reference the unceremonious flashback .

"A little irony there, he got hit by Damar Hamlin . You know that history," he said. On January 2, 2023, Hamlin was knocked unconscious and rushed to the hospital after suffering cardiac arrest following a blow to the chest.

Michaels and co-commentator Kirk Herbstreit are calling the October 17 clash between the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints in coach Sean Payton's return to New Orleans.