NBC’s Sunday Night Football & Football Night in America Kick Off 20th Season Next Thurs., Sept. 4 on NBC and Peacock
From “The Manning Bowl” in 2006 to this season’s Super Bowl in Feb. 2026: We’re “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night”
August 28, 2025
Eight days from today – next Thursday, Sept. 4 – NBC Sports kicks off the milestone 20th season of Sunday Night Football and Football Night in America on NBC and Peacock.
NBC Sports is the home of Super Bowl LX -- Feb. 8 on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo
Sunday Night Football celebrates season 20 showcasing high-profile matchups featuring the NFL’s biggest stars and best rivalries from NFL Kickoff next week to sports’ biggest spectacle – Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8, 2026, on NBC, Peacock, and Telemundo.
The Super Bowl-champion Philadelphia Eagles host the Dallas Cowboys in NFL Kickoff ’25 next Thursday, Sept. 4, in a matchup with special significance to SNF on NBC. It’s the 17th meeting between the NFC East rivals on NBC’s Sunday Night Football package – marking the most-played matchup in the history of the NBC SNF package, which kicked off in 2006.
The 2006 NFL Kickoff game (Pittsburgh’s 28-17 victory over Miami on Sept. 7, 2006) was the first of NBC Sports’ 354 regular-season games played to date in the SNF package (does not include two Peacock-exclusive regular-season games). The package’s first game on a Sunday night (Sept. 10, 2006) was “The Manning Bowl” as quarterback brothers Peyton Manning (Indianapolis) and Eli Manning (New York Giants) played against each other for the first time.
Along the way, Sunday Night Football has been primetime TV’s No. 1 show for an unprecedented 14 consecutive seasons (2011-24) – a record unmatched in TV history (since 1950) – while Football Night in America has been the most-watched weekly studio show in sports each season since its 2006 debut.
In its first 19 seasons, NBC SNF games have been contested in 40 stadiums, with the Dallas Cowboys playing the most games in the series (61), Andy Reid coaching the most games (49), the Pittsburgh Steelers facing the most opponents (21 franchises), Aaron Rodgers throwing the most TD passes (87), and Tom Brady pulling off the most comebacks in the fourth quarter or overtime (eight).
Following is a look at NBC’s SNF and FNIA as they head into their 20th seasons:
Sunday Night Football Announce Team
In the Sunday Night Football booth
| Al Michaels & John Madden | 2006-2008 |
| Al Michaels & Cris Collinsworth | 2009-2021 |
| Mike Tirico & Cris Collinsworth | 2022-present |
On the sidelines for Sunday Night Football
| Andrea Kremer | 2006-2010 |
| Michele Tafoya | 2011-2021 |
| Melissa Stark | 2022-present |
Rules Analyst for Sunday Night Football
| Terry McAulay | 2018-present |
Sunday Night Football show open – performers
| Pink | 2006 |
| Faith Hill | 2007-12 |
| Carrie Underwood | 2013-present |
Football Night in America Facts & Figures
- The original Football Night in America team in 2006 consisted of Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, Tiki Barber, Jerome Bettis, Sterling Sharpe and Peter King.
- The current FNIA team consists of Maria Taylor, Jason Garrett, Devin McCourty, Chris Simms, Tony Dungy, Rodney Harrison, Mike Florio, Matthew Berry and Jac Collinsworth. Steve Kornacki, chief data analyst for NBC News and NBC Sports, joins FNIA late each season to break down the NFL playoff picture.
- Formerly rivals on the field, Tony Dungy and Rodney Harrison begin their 17th season together on FNIA in 2025.
- Tirico and Collinsworth were both members of the Football Night in America team before beginning in the SNF booth. Tirico hosted FNIA at the game site in the 2016-17 seasons before serving as studio host from 2018-21. Collinsworth worked in the FNIA studio in the 2006-2008 seasons.
- FNIA has had four homes – Studio 8G and Studio 8H at NBCUniversal headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City, Studio 1 and currently Studio 3 at NBC Sports’ International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn.
- Football Night in America has been the most-watched studio show in sports since its inception in 2006. Average viewership in 2024 was 7.1 million viewers (7:30-8:15 p.m. ET), up 9% vs. the inaugural season in 2006 (6.5 million).
- The most-watched single show (7:30-8:15 p.m. ET) in FNIA history was on Sept. 13, 2015, which averaged 12.3 million viewers leading into the Week 1 game between the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.
Sunday Night Football - Most-honored Live Production in Sports
- In 19 seasons on NBC (2006-24), Sunday Night Football has been honored with the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Live Sports Series a record 11 times, including a record six consecutive accolades following the 2008-13 NFL seasons. In total, SNF has been awarded with 31 Sports Emmys, which does not include individual recognition for the announcers – as each member has won or earned a finalist nomination.
- The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented three NBC Sunday Night Football charter contributors with Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Sports Emmys – executive producer Dick Ebersol (after the 2008 NFL season), analyst John Madden (2009), and play-by-play voice Al Michaels (2010).
- SNF’s original lead producer Fred Gaudelli and director Drew Esocoff were recognized in May 2024 by NATAS with Silver Circle honors for 25 years of “distinguished service within the television industry, setting standards for achievement, mentoring, leadership and professional accolades.” SNF’s current lead producer Rob Hyland was recognized with the same honor in May 2025.
- In August 2017, NBC Sunday Night Football was honored with a display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for “its record run as the #1 show in all of primetime television.”
- The Pro Football Hall of Fame recognized five charter members of the NBC SNF team with the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, which is presented annually “in recognition of longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football” – John Madden (2002 - prior to debut of SNF), Al Michaels (2013), Andrea Kremer (2018), Dick Ebersol (2019), and Fred Gaudelli (2023).
Sunday Night Football - On the Screen
SNF is No. 1 in Primetime for Unprecedented 14 Consecutive Years
NBC’s Sunday Night Football finished the 2024-25 television season as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for an unprecedented 14th consecutive year – adding to its record for the most consecutive years atop the charts (since 1950), based on official live plus same day data provided by Nielsen. Sunday Night Football also ranked as the No. 1 show in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic for the 16th consecutive TV season.
In the most competitive time slot in media, NBC Sunday Night Football posted a Total Audience Delivery average of 21.6 million viewers in 2024 – the show’s best viewership since 2015, according to official live plus same day data released by Nielsen, and digital data from Adobe Analytics.
Most Consecutive Years, #1 Ranked Show in Primetime, Since 1950
14 years in a row – Sunday Night Football (2011-12 through 2024-25)
6 years in a row – American Idol (2005-06 through 2010-11)
5 years in a row – The Cosby Show (1985-86 through 1989-90)…tied Cheers in ‘89-90
5 years in a row – All in the Family (1971-72 through 1975-76)
4 years in a row – Gunsmoke (1957-58 through 1960-61)
Led by Peacock, SNF Continues to Set Streaming Records
Led by Peacock, NBC Sports Digital hit another viewership milestone for Sunday Night Football in 2024, delivering a full-season Average Minute Audience above 2 million viewers (2.2 million) for the first time across Peacock, NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and NFL Digital properties – up 38% from the prior record (1.6 million) set in 2023, and nearly double the AMA in 2022 (1.2 million).
The streaming audience has grown such that NBC Sports Digital’s AMA of 2.2 million viewers for SNF topped the Fall primetime average (8:30-11:30 p.m. ET) of all linear cable networks over the 20 SNF nights this season (excludes Sat., Dec. 21 show, which was at 1 p.m. ET).
In addition:
· The Peacock Exclusive AFC Wild Card in Jan. 2024 (Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs) is the most-watched exclusive nationally streamed NFL playoff game, reaching more than 32 million viewers. Peacock has also streamed exclusive national coverage of two NFL regular-season games (one each in the 2023 and 2024 seasons).
· In Dec. 2024, Peacock exclusively streamed the EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast of the Houston Texans-Kansas City Chiefs game, which featured a blend of video game elements and live action to present a first-of-its-kind live football experience.
Most Watched Games, NBC Sunday Night Football package, 2006-24 seasons
| Game, Date | Avg. Viewers* |
| Dallas at Washington, 12/30/12 | 30.3 million |
| Baltimore at Kansas City, 9/5/24 | 29.2 million |
| Minnesota at Detroit, 1/5/25 | 28.5 million |
| Tampa Bay at New England, 10/3/21 | 28.4 million |
| Chicago at Green Bay, 11/26/15 | 27.8 million |
| Dallas at N.Y. Giants, 1/1/12 | 27.7 million |
| Pittsburgh at Denver, 9/9/12 | 27.6 million |
| Pittsburgh at New England, 9/10/15 | 27.6 million |
| Detroit at Kansas City, 9/7/23 | 27.5 million |
| Minnesota at New Orleans, 9/9/10 | 27.5 million |
*Viewership across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital, NFL Digital
Sunday Night Football - On the Field
NBC has televised 354 regular-season primetime NFL games since NBC’s Sunday Night Football debuted on September 7, 2006. Among the notable facts and figures from the NBC SNF package (includes NFL Kickoff and Thanksgiving primetime games):
Games in the NBC SNF package have been played in 40 different stadiums…
Stadiums Hosting Most Games in NBC SNF package:
| Acrisure Stadium (Steelers) | 23 |
| AT&T Stadium (Cowboys) | 23 |
| Lambeau Field (Packers) | 23 |
| Empower Field at Mile High (Broncos) | 18 |
| Gillette Stadium (Patriots) | 18 |
| Lincoln Financial Field (Eagles) | 18 |
New Stadiums Debuting on NBC’s Sunday Night Football
| Lucas Oil Stadium (Colts) | 2008 |
| AT&T Stadium (Cowboys) | 2009 |
| Levi’s Stadium (49ers) | 2014 |
| U.S. Bank Stadium (Vikings) | 2016 |
| Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Falcons) | 2017 |
| SoFi Stadium (Rams, Chargers) | 2020 |
Most NBC SNF Games, Since 2006, Team
| Dallas Cowboys | 61 |
| Green Bay Packers | 48 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 46 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 42 |
| New England Patriots | 39 |
| New York Giants | 39 |
Most Played Matchups on NBC SNF, Since 2006
| Cowboys-Eagles | 16 |
| Cowboys-Giants | 13 |
| Bears-Packers | 11 |
| Ravens-Steelers | 10 |
| Packers-Vikings | 8 |
Teams Playing Most Opponents on NBC SNF, Since 2006
The Pittsburgh Steelers have played 21 different NFL clubs/franchises on NBC SNF, the most in the league. Following are the clubs to have played at least 15 different franchises on SNF:
| Team | SNF Opponents (Different Clubs) |
| Pittsburgh | 21 |
| New England | 20 |
| Green Bay | 19 |
| Indianapolis | 18 |
| Kansas City | 18 |
| Dallas | 17 |
| Denver | 15 |
| Philadelphia | 15 |
| Seattle | 15 |
Best Win % on NBC SNF, Since 2006, Team
| Buffalo Bills | 9-3-0 | .750 |
| New Orleans Saints | 17-6-0 | .739 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 15-10-0 | .600 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 19-13-0 | .594 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 6-4-1 | .591 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 9-6-0 | .600 |
Most SNF Games, Since 2006, Head Coach
| Andy Reid | 49 |
| Mike McCarthy | 45 |
| Mike Tomlin | 44 |
| Bill Belichick | 39 |
| Jason Garrett | 32 |
Most SNF Victories, Since 2006, Head Coach
| Andy Reid | 28 |
| Mike Tomlin | 26 |
| Bill Belichick | 22 |
| Mike McCarthy | 22 |
| Sean Payton | 17 |
Most SNF Games, Since 2006, Player
| L.P. Ladouceur | 49 |
| Jason Witten | 45 |
| Mason Crosby | 43 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 40 |
| Tom Brady | 38 |
Most TDs Scored on NBC Sunday Night Football
| Antonio Brown | 23 |
| Tyreek Hill | 21 |
| Davante Adams | 19 |
| Rob Gronkowski | 17 |
| Jason Witten | 16 |
Most TD passes on NBC Sunday Night Football
| Aaron Rodgers | 87 |
| Tom Brady | 73 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 68 |
| Peyton Manning | 65 |
| Drew Brees | 55 |
| Tony Romo | 55 |
Most Passing Yards on NBC Sunday Night Football
| Tom Brady | 11,269 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 10,299 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 10,026 |
| Eli Manning | 8,196 |
| Peyton Manning | 7,682 |
Highest Passer Rating on SNF, Since 2006 (min. 5 games)
| Jordan Love | 123.7 |
| Drew Brees | 114.9 |
| Kirk Cousins | 108.5 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 105.1 |
| Peyton Manning | 103.5 |
| Russell Wilson | 101.4 |
| Tony Romo | 97.7 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 96.8 |
Most Game-Winning Drives (4th Q or OT) on SNF, Since 2006
| Tom Brady | 8 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 7 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 7 |
| Tony Romo | 6 |
| Jared Goff | 5 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 5 |
| Eli Manning | 5 |
| Dak Prescott | 5 |
Most Rushing Yards on NBC Sunday Night Football
| Ezekiel Elliott | 1,636 |
| LeSean McCoy | 1,610 |
| Aaron Jones, Sr. | 1,345 |
| DeMarco Murray | 1,143 |
| Joseph Addai | 1,064 |
Most Receiving Yards on NBC Sunday Night Football
| Antonio Brown | 2,433 |
| Jason Witten | 2,324 |
| Travis Kelce | 2,093 |
| Davante Adams | 1,715 |
| Randall Cobb | 1,650 |
Sunday Night Football Conference Call – Tomorrow, Aug. 28 at Noon ET
Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, Melissa Stark, coordinating producer Rob Hyland, and director Drew Esocoff will preview the Sunday Night Football season on a media conference call tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 28, at Noon ET.
For more information, click here.
