Tigers' Jason Benetti reportedly is leading candidate to call MLB games on NBC

Tony Paul, The Detroit News on Jan 6, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

DETROIT — Is Jason Benetti about to add to his already busy baseball broadcasting schedule?

Benetti, the television play-by-play voice of the Detroit Tigers, is a "leading candidate" to become the primary broadcaster for NBC's baseball coverage, starting in 2026, according to a report from Front Office Sports, which cited multiple sources. The Athletic also reported Benetti is under consideration for the job, citing multiple sources. NBC hasn't yet commented on its plans.

NBC struck a deal with Major League Baseball to do games from 2026-28, including Sunday night baseball between the end of the NBA regular season and start of the NFL season. ESPN's deal with MLB expired in 2025.

The Athletic reported Kevin Brown, play-by-play man with the Baltimore Orioles, also is a possibility for the lead announcer job, while future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw, who retired after winning a World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2025, has emerged as option as part of NBC's analyst rotation.

NBC's new baseball package also is set to include the wild-card round of the postseason, as well as games on Opening Day and Labor Day. NBC's streaming service, Peacock, will continue airing day games on Sundays.

According to Front Office Sports, Benetti's deal with Fox Sports, for whom he calls national baseball games as well as college football and basketball games, runs through later this year. Any deal with NBC would require Benetti to get permission from Fox Sports and potentially the Tigers, too.

The Tigers had no comment Tuesday; Benetti did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Benetti, 42, became the Tigers' TV play-by-play voice in 2024, after a long run with the Chicago White Sox. An appeal to the Tigers job was the team's willingness to be flexible with his national broadcasting schedule. An employee of the Tigers, Benetti is afforded 35 games off when there are conflicts with national assignments.

During the Tigers' season, Benetti misses most of Detroit's Saturday games to do national games on Fox, and then late in the regular season, he misses most of the Tigers' Saturday games to do national college football games. There has been flexibility, though, on his part. Late in the 2024 baseball season, Benetti juggled his workload, allowing him to stay on the call for Tigers games as they made their surprising playoff push.

Benetti previously called baseball games for the NBC in 2021-22, first at the Summer Olympics in 2021, and then for the Sunday leadoff games on Peacock in 2022, before he made the move to Fox Sports.

Benetti did television for his hometown Chicago White Sox from 2016-23, before leaving for the Tigers job. There was reported friction with White Sox management, including over his national broadcast aspirations.

It's common for national baseball broadcasters to have a "home" base, or full-time job. Lead Fox announcer Joe Davis, a Michigan native, does Los Angeles Dodgers games, while longtime ESPN "Sunday Night Baseball" play-by-play man Jon Miller was, at the same time, calling Orioles and, later, San Francisco Giants games.