Everything to Know About Mike Tirico: His Family, Sunday Night Football Role & More
A longtime sporscaster, Tirico has served as play-by-play maven for Sunday Night Football on NBC since 2022.
Since the early 1990s, Mike Tirico, 58, has been a staple of the sports broadcasting scene and for the last several years, he's comfortably settled into his post as play-by-play announcer for Sunday Night Football on NBC (he's been a part of the greater SNF sports team for nearly a decade).
This week, however, he takes on a very different network responsibility as guest host on TODAY while Savannah Guthrie's usual co-host, Craig Melvin, is temporarily out enjoying the Easter vacation with his family. To help prepare him for his new job, Guthrie gave Tirico a sweeping tour of 30 Rockefeller Center, which included a lunch comprised of a turkey sandwich specially named after the longtime sports veteran.
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"I'm beyond excited. I am stoked," the New York City native said ahead of his brief hosting stint. "We know what the TODAY show has meant to this country for so many years and to be a part of that franchise and to be a part of that history and to do it sitting next to the big sister I never had every morning — dreams come true."
"He was the consensus choice. In fact, I would say it was never even a choice. It was obvious," Guthrie added. "You know, we love Hoda. We tried to wrap our arms around her and give her the most beautiful goodbye through tears. And now we have tears because it’s tears of joy and gratitude, that sitting right next to us all this time has been Craig. He is a seamless transition. He is absolutely made for this job and made for this moment."
Mike Tirico's sports career explained
Tirico has enjoyed the career of a sportscaster for over three decades. He joined the NBC Sports team in the summer of 2016, going on to provide coverage for competitive events like the Kentucky Derby, the golf-centric U.S. Open, and, more recently, the Summer Olympics in Paris.
He became the lead play-by-play announcer for Sunday Night Football in 2022 and won the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host two years in a row. In the midst of that successful run, Tirico will take on a dual role as play-by-play for NBA games when the next NBA season tips off this October on both NBC and Peacock. Tirico has plenty of experience with the league, as he spent much of his early career successfully calling NBA games from 2002-2016 before joining NBC Sports.
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Mike Tirico's wife Deborah and children
Tirico has been married to Deborah "Debbie" Gibaratz, whom he met during their undergraduate years at Syracuse University, since 1991, according to Parade. Debbie played basketball at the college and served as the women team's captain in 1989. She and her husband have two children: son Jordan and daughter Cammi. The family resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
