CBS Sports' Greg Gumbel on the big paydays going to NFL broadcasters: I never thought announcers delivers ratings

Sports Illustrated

Gumbel, who was CBS' lead NFL voice from 1998 to 2003, tells Sports Illustrated on the big contracts going to Troy Aikman, Tony Romo, Joe Buck and other NFL broadcasters: “I will tell you, it has gotten crazy. I don’t have any need to be jealous of it. I’ve been treated really nicely and have always been appreciative of what I’ve been able to do for a long, long time. So I think that doesn’t apply to me. What does tickle my thought process is, I’ve never felt in my entire life there is an announcer who can bring someone to the TV set to watch a game that that viewer wasn’t already going to watch. And I believe the only thing a broadcaster can do is chase people away."