Tony Gonzalez Talks Working on Prime Video’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ (Exclusive)

Tony Gonzalez is no stranger to being an NFL analyst as he worked for Fox Sports and CBS Sports following his retirement from the NFL. And now the legendary NFL tight end is part of Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football team which had its first season last year. Earlier this year, PopCulture.com spoke exclusively to Gonzalez who opened up about his experience on Thursday Night Football for the streaming service. 

“I loved it. To be a part of something new, it was great,” Gonzalez exclusively told PopCulture. “The three guys that came on that had never done TV before, Richard [Sherman], Ryan [Fitzpatrick] and Andrew [Whitworth], to team up with Charissa [Thompson] and I, it was incredible. I mean, Al Michaels in the booth, Kirk Herbstreit, two of the best to ever do it. And I think we proved a lot of people wrong that said we couldn’t get the numbers and we couldn’t put out a… Now, the game’s kind of stunk, a couple of them, but the broadcast and everything else around it was great. Hopefully, next year we get some better games. The only problem I had was it was cold, okay? I don’t like the cold weather, but that’s just me complaining out loud.”

The Thursday Night Football broadcast for Prime Video was big last season as it was the first time NFL games were broadcast exclusively to streaming. And with the NFL officially entering its new contract with the broadcast networks, there will be a few changes to the Thursday Night Football broadcast, specifically with the scheduling of games. In March, the NFL changed its rule, allowing teams to play multiple times on Prime Video. Additionally, Prime Video will broadcast a game on Black Friday (Nov. 24) since Fox, CBS, and NBC will air games on Thanksgiving day.

Thursday Night Football was a success for Prime Video and the NFL as it recently earned five Sports Emmy nominations for its 2022 coverage, including Outstanding Live Series in its inaugural season. Gonzalez is part of the pregame, halftime and postgame coverage with Thompson, Sherman, Fitzpatrick and Whitworth. Michaels and Herbstreit call the game in the booth with Kaylee Hartung reporting on the field. Thursday Night Football also includes features reporter Taylor Rooks and news analyst Michael Smith.