Top NFL Sideline Reporter to Walk Away After 2021 Season

By Brian Jones

One of the top sideline reporters in the NFL is reportedly walking away once the 2021 season comes to an end. According to the New York Post, Michele Tafoya, who does sideline reporting for NBC's Sunday Night Football, will leave at the end of the year. She has been working the sidelines for the NBC broadcast for 11 seasons. 

Tafoya hasn't appeared on the show in recent weeks but NBC said that has nothing to do with her leaving. NBC said in a statement that Tafoya is using her "announcers bye weeks" which every member of the broadcast team receives. Tafoya is expected to return to the sidelines for the Week 15 broadcast between the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

"As we've done repeatedly, we're again giving our SNF announcers bye weeks in 2021, and we plan to do it well into the future," an NBC spokesperson told Andrew Marchand of the New York Post. As mentioned by Yahoo Sports, Tafoya could return to Sunday Night Football in a different role since the report said she is done with sideline reporting. 

"Michele will be back on the sidelines this weekend. As we have done repeatedly, we're again giving our announcers bye weeks in 2021, and we plan to do it well into the future. Michele's off weeks – which were determined prior to the season -- were all in cold-weather cities after Thanksgiving, and her final weekend off this season comes on Jan. 2 in Green Bay.  Any other speculation about her time off is blatantly false," NBC Sports responded, per Fox News.

There is speculation that Tafoya is leaving her role on the sidelines due to her remarks on The View. She appeared on the show on Nov. 3 and had a debate about former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, which was around the time his limited series Colin in Back and White debuted on Netflix.

"A lot of teams have tried him out, I will tell you, I know my stuff on this, too," Tafoya argued, per Awful Announcing. "He didn't lose everything, in fact, I'd say he gained a whole lot, a leader of the movement, a Netflix series, he's got Nike endorsements."  Tafoya, 56, joined NBC Sports in 2011, replacing Andrea Kremer. She previously worked for ESPN and ABC where she called NFL and NBA games. 

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