Jason Benetti’s impressive broadcasting resume is getting another bump.
Benetti, the television play-by-play man for the Tigers, has been officially named the lead broadcaster for NBC’s “Sunday Night Baseball” games for the 2026 season, the network announced Wednesday morning. Rumblings about the possibility first surfaced in January.
In joining NBC, Benetti is leaving his baseball contract with Fox, a commitment that for the last two seasons has kept him mostly absent from Tigers broadcasts on Saturdays.
Now, Benetti’s absences from the Tigers booth will mostly come on Sundays, instead of Saturdays.
Benetti, 42, joins a historic franchise in “Sunday Night Baseball,” which, with Jon Miller and Joe Morgan on the call, debuted on ESPN in 1990 and ran on the network through 2025. ESPN opted to scale back on its baseball for 2026, and NBC picked up the rights to “Sunday Night Baseball,” to go with their package of games set for early on Sunday afternoons.
Benetti’s 2026 debut with NBC will come on a Thursday, March 26, for NBC’s special Opening Day coverage, and Benetti will call the defending World Series-champion Los Angeles Dodgers’ home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. That means he will miss the Tigers’ opener earlier that day, at the San Diego Padres.
Benetti’s first “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast on an actual Sunday will be March 29, with the Cleveland Guardians playing at the Seattle Mariners. The Tigers are off that day.
“We’re incredibly proud that Jason Benetti has been named the new voice of ‘Sunday Night Baseball’ on NBC.” the Tigers said in a statement Wednesday. “This recognition reflects his exceptional broadcasting talent, tireless commitment to excellence, and engaging personality, all of which combine to make him a premier storyteller across all of sports. Jason will continue calling Tigers games, and as in previous years will step away once per week to handle national broadcast duties. With Opening Day approaching and excitement building for the season ahead, we’re grateful to have him as part of our Tigers family.”
Three of Benetti’s first seven “Sunday Night Baseball” baseball games actually will feature the Tigers: April 5 (vs. St. Louis Cardinals), May 3 (vs. Texas Rangers) and May 10 (at Kansas City Royals). Those three games will air on Peacock, because the NBA playoffs will be on NBC.
NBC previously announced Bob Costas is joining the “Sunday Night Baseball” team as a studio host. Former players Clayton Kershaw, Anthony Rizzo and Joey Votto will be studio analysts.
Local analysts from teams playing in Sunday night game are expected to work alongside Benetti, the same rotational format used with Benetti when he called the Peacock Sunday leadoff games in 2022.
Benetti is entering his third year as the Tigers’ TV play-by-play man and is expected to call more than 120 games on the team’s new television and streaming home, Detroit SportsNet.
The Tigers will be on national TV at least 16 times in 2026, on Fox and NBC platforms, and TBS. ESPN (midweek) and Apple TV (Friday nights) still haven’t released full game selections for 2026.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Jason Benetti lands ‘Sunday Night Baseball’; what does it mean for Tigers?
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
