Jim Nantz has been the voice echoing through our television screens for quite some time across different sports, including the NFL, NBA, NCAA, PGA, and more.
On Sunday, Nantz will call his 500th NFL game as the Denver Broncos take on the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round. Let’s look back on Nantz’s legendary career and break down everything you need to know about the broadcaster.
Who Is Jim Nantz?
Nantz was born May 17, 1959, in Charlotte, NC, but he grew up in Louisiana and New Jersey.
While attending Marlboro High School in New Jersey, Nantz was co-captain of the basketball team as well as co-captain and the No. 1 player on the school’s golf team. He did not play football.
Nantz attended the University of Houston, where he played on the men’s golf team and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Radio and Television Broadcasting in 1981.
Nantz started his broadcasting career immediately following his graduation when he worked as an anchor and sportscaster for KHOU in Houston in the early 1980s. He also became a weekend sports anchor on KSL-TV in Salt Lake City from 1982-1985. Nantz finally joined CBS Sports in 1985, where he’s been ever since.
He initially worked as a studio host for college football and basketball coverage as well as an on-course reporter for the PGA Tour. His first NFL coverage experience came in 1987 when he did play-by-play for the NFL on CBS Radio. He then became the play-by-play lead for the NFL on CBS from 2004 to the present day.
Additionally, he was host for “The NFL Today” from 1998-2003 and lead play-by-play broadcaster for Thursday Night Football from 2014-2017. Nantz is a two-time Sports Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Sports Personality, Play-by-Play in 2009 and 2010. He is also a five-time NSMA National Sportscaster of the Year winner in 1998, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2009. Nantz was inducted into the NSMA Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2021.
Nantz has received the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Curt Gowdy Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Nantz has also written two books: “Always By My Side – A Father’s Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other” and “Always By My Side – A Heartwarming Story of Faith, Loyalty, Love, Optimism, Courage, and Grace.”
Nantz and Tony Romo have the second-longest tenure of any broadcast duo as this is their eighth season together, and they are one of the most respected broadcaster tandems.
How Old Is Nantz, and Is He Retiring?
Nantz is 65 years old, and he has been CBS Sports’ lead play-by-play broadcaster for the NFL on CBS since 2004. He served in the same role for College Basketball on CBS since 1990, while also being the host of the PGA Tour on CBS since 1994.
While he was the voice of March Madness and a pioneer for the NCAA Tournament for many years, he retired following the 2023 edition of the tournament. His last Final Four took place in Houston, where Nantz started his broadcasting career.
Nantz’s final college basketball game of his broadcasting career came as UConn defeated San Diego State 76-59 in the National Championship game. He called 354 college basketball games and 18 Final Fours throughout his legendary career.
While Nantz retired from College Basketball on CBS and March Madness, he continues calling NFL games and handling his golf duties. The 65-year-old hasn’t given any indication that he plans to walk away from his other broadcasting gigs.
“I’ve loved it, and it has been so much fun,” Nantz said of calling college basketball games. “Something had to go, though. You’re never going to walk away from the NFL — it’s too big — and golf is deep in my heart.”
Nantz Can Remember Nearly All of His Notable Calls
Nantz recently sat down with CBS Sports to see if he could recall some of his most famous calls.
While reliving the iconic moments, Nantz recognized some of his calls with just four words!
Jim Nantz is set to call his 500th NFL game this Sunday.
We put him to the test to see just how well he knows his own calls pic.twitter.com/N35P1xs1FK
— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) January 8, 2025
The phrase “in the end zone” was enough for Nantz to recognize the Miracle in Motown when Aaron Rodgers connected with Richard Rodgers for a walk-off touchdown on an untimed down in Detroit in December of 2015.
After getting one wrong, Nantz bounces back by remembering one call based off the phrase “got him at the 40.” This was a game played between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos in January of 2012. Nantz recalled the exact play that scored an overtime touchdown.
Nantz even recalled a college football game he called in 1991 and a more recent play of Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland setting the NFL’s pick-six record.
After reliving these moments, he dropped some beautiful wisdom on the way he approaches calling games in the booth.
“We’re in the reactionary business. You don’t know when the big moment’s going to happen. In a football game, you have roughly 130 chapters, the plays, to write the book on that one given game,” Nantz said. “You don’t know which chapter of those 130 is the one that’s going to define the story, and it can come anywhere along the line. So, mentally, I tell myself before every game, ‘Be ready for every chapter because you never know.'”