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Morning Edition

February 4, 2026

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NBC Sports president Rick Cordella tells Front Office Sports he’s overseeing a jam-packed year of Super Bowl, Winter Olympics, NBA All-Star, and Sunday Night Baseball—and hints at what’s next with Michael Jordan.

— Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]] and Eric Fisher [[link removed]]

FOS at the Super Bowl With viewership already high, NBC is aiming for a record-breaking Super Bowl—but won’t promise one. Read the story [[link removed]]. Talk around an 18th regular-season game is picking up, but the NFL players’ union says there’s “no appetite” for it. Read the story [[link removed]]. The NFL says ICE agents won’t be at the Super Bowl, even as the federal government plans a heavy security presence. Read the story [[link removed]]. Inside the Patriots camp, there was frustration after owner Robert Kraft reportedly missed out on the Hall of Fame. Read the story [[link removed]]. Facing backlash over Super Bowl merch, Fanatics says supply—not quality—is the real issue it’s scrambling to fix. Read the story. [[link removed]] NBC Sports Boss Talks Wild Sports Stretch, Michael Jordan

Jeremy O'Brien-FOS images

SAN FRANCISCO — NBC Sports president Rick Cordella is overseeing a torrential stretch of sports on the network in the next few weeks: Super Bowl 60 in the Bay Area, the Winter Olympics in Italy, and the NBA All-Star Game in Los Angeles.

He joined Front Office Sports at our live set on Radio Row to discuss what type of staffing this parade requires, the status of Michael Jordan as a special contributor on NBA telecasts, and the decision to pick up Sunday Night Baseball.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

FOS: You’re embarking on a huge year. Let’s start with the Olympics.

Rick Cordella: Yeah, the Friday opening ceremony is happening from Milan Cortina. Couldn’t be more excited about it. I think it might be one of the better Winter opens we’ve had in recent memory, probably because Team USA is so strong this year. Obviously, Lindsey Vonn on Super Bowl Sunday, racing the downhill. She came out this morning, [said] despite her ACL tear, she will give it a go [[link removed]]. Give her a lot of credit for going through that pain and competing. But just overall, you have Ilia Malinin, who may be the greatest figure skater of all time, in terms of what he’s doing versus the competition, doing backflips on the ice. It’s gonna be exciting to see.

You obviously also have USA Hockey, with Canada and their foreign policy coming into play, and maybe zhuzhing that up a little bit from what it normally is. And just overall, Team USA could go for the record number of medals that we saw back in Vancouver [in 2010]. So it’s going to be an exciting two weeks there in Milan.

FOS: We buried the lede. You also have the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star Game, and staffing up Sunday Night Baseball [[link removed]]. You have five kids. How are you still standing?

RC: I’ve got a great wife at home, first of all, taking care of the kids. So she, thankfully, is all good on that front. We had Sunday Night Basketball from Madison Square Garden just this past Sunday with Knicks-Lakers, and that was phenomenal in our first of the new deal of Sunday night, and having Lenny Kravitz come out. We’re really trying to treat that as if it’s Sunday Night Football, just in the basketball arena. And then we’ll take that forward to baseball when we have that later on this spring. But there’s a lot going on.

I’m incredibly lucky to have just a phenomenal, phenomenal team of professionals that really are dedicated to their craft, that do what they do. And to some degree, these folks are sort of compartmentalized. So we have about 1,600 employees back in Stamford, Connecticut working on the Olympics, about 1,000 in Italy, about 700 plus here in the Bay Area working on the Super Bowl. About 250 or so down in LA for NBA All-Star Weekend.

FOS: What do you have planned for Michael Jordan [[link removed]]?

RC: With him joining our team as a special contributor, we had a great interview with him, and we hope there’s more in the future.

FOS: Has he given any indication whether there will be more?

RC: We’ve had discussions with him—plenty of ongoing discussions. We’ll see what happens.

For more from Rick Cordella on what’s ahead for NBC Sports, read the full interview here [[link removed]].

EXCLUSIVES

Hanson Explains Radio Row Credential Snafu

Even NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson wasn’t immune to the strict credentialing process at the Super Bowl “radio row,” explaining he accidentally left his only media pass with an assistant, who was at another hotel. Read more about Hanson’s Super Bowl week mix‑up in Ryan Glasspiegel’s story here [[link removed]].

ESPN Finalizing Deal With Influencer Lily Shimbashi

ESPN is set to hire influencer Lily Shimbashi as a full-time creator for major events, starting with the NFL Honors red carpet. Read more about Shimbashi’s new role in Michael McCarthy’s story here [[link removed]].

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NFL’s Latest Pro Bowl Experiment: Indoors, Smaller Field—and Crowd [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

SAN FRANCISCO — The NFL’s dramatically remade Pro Bowl Games, held inside a convention center, were pretty much unlike any other league event ever. At least that much is certain.

The league carried out Tuesday the latest attempt to reinvigorate its long-struggling all-star showcase [[link removed]], converting its flag football competition to an indoor setting at the Moscone Center—also the site of many of its activities this week around Super Bowl LX.

The Pro Bowl Games have centered around flag football, leaning into another key NFL priority, since 2023. This year’s event, however, featured another dramatically remade approach with a new midweek timing during the run-up to the Super Bowl, and a new setting with a custom-built, indoor field instead of a traditional stadium locale.

The smaller footprint meant that there was only an invitation-only audience of about 2,000, leaving the Pro Bowl Games as much more of a made-for-TV event. Those fans who were there, though, did get visibly enthused at multiple points, particularly scoring players.

Even compared to domed stadiums, there was a palpable feeling of tightness to the proceedings, as the Moscone Center roof is only 37 feet over the field, with arches extending even lower at several points. The NFL is using the venue for a variety of other events during Super Bowl week. There was no kicking in the game.

The NFC won a frenetic, back-and-forth contest over the AFC by a 66–52 score.

Will It Work?

The new venue and timing for the Pro Bowl Games, developed after consultation with players, are designed to inject further life into the event and also allow more star players to be a part of Super Bowl week.

To a fair degree, that worked, and a competitive spirit among the participating players was still palpable. That contrasted sharply with some of the non-contact activity in the original, tackle-football format of the original Pro Bowl.

There were still pre-event complaints in some corners, however, as the AFC quarterbacks for the game included Bengals’ Joe Flacco, now 41 years old, and the Browns’ Shedeur Sanders, the conference starter despite playing in just eight games this season. The conference’s three initial quarterback picks for the Pro Bowl Games—the Patriots’ Drake Maye, Bills’ Josh Allen, and Chargers’ Justin Herbert—are either playing in the Super Bowl or are recovering from injuries.

Viewership metrics from the game, shown on ESPN, won’t be available until later in the week. When the figures do arrive, they will be a critical indicator of the effectiveness of the latest moves—particularly since the in-person component was so dramatically reduced.

The 2025 Pro Bowl Games averaged 4.7 million viewers [[link removed]], down 18% and the third straight annual decline. Given the NFL’s dominance [[link removed]] over not only the rest of sports but all of U.S. television and culture, the continued viewership struggles of the Pro Bowl and then the Pro Bowl Games remain a significant outlier. That television audience for last year’s event was less than two-thirds of the comparable 7.2 million average [[link removed]] for MLB’s 2025 All-Star Game in July.

Even with flag football remaining a critical NFL priority and the sport set to be played in the 2028 Summer Olympics, some are still predicting that the again-remade format for the Pro Bowl Games is the beginning of the end.

“The moment the Pro Bowl Games become big enough strain on the bottom line, they’ll go the way of the surprise onside kick,” wrote ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio [[link removed]]. “And so the message is clear. If you don’t like the Pro Bowl Games, don’t watch. If enough people don’t, the Pro Bowl Games will inevitably be put out of everyone’s misery.”

What Else We’re Watching As Disney names its next CEO, ESPN is in the middle of sweeping changes that will shape its future. Read the story [[link removed]]. Pittsburgh organizers say the 2026 NFL Draft could draw as many as 700,000 fans to the city. Read the story [[link removed]]. Drake Maye is the first QB from the NIL era to start a Super Bowl—and his path says a lot about how college football has changed. Read the story [[link removed]].

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS LIVE

Breakfast Ball Takes San Francisco

Breakfast Ball [[link removed]] is back for its second edition—and this year, we’re headed to the Bay Area with official partners Thomas’ Bagels and Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, plus activation partners USGA, Flag & Anthem, Olukai, REAL, Rumpl, Nomatic, Bacardi, and SWAG Golf.

Breakfast Ball 2026 will be hosted by San Francisco legends and NFL Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Jerry Rice. Featuring both a celebrity pro-am and hospitality space, this event will be the ideal weekend kickoff leading up to the Big Game.

In partnership with Excel Sports Management, last year’s inaugural event brought together athletes, executives, celebrities, and creators in New Orleans. Now, we’re taking things to the next level with an unforgettable day at the iconic TPC Harding Park Golf Course on Friday, Feb. 6.

Space is extremely limited. This is your last chance to request to attend [[link removed]] for a chance to join.

FOS at Radio Row Tony Dungy sidestepped questions about the reported Hall of Fame decisions on Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick. Watch here. [[link removed]] Mike Florio discusses the NFL’s broad conduct policy and Giants chair Steve Tisch after his name surfaced in the Epstein emails. Watch here [[link removed]]. When the Seattle Seahawks hit the market, will billionaire Jeff Bezos step in and buy them? Mike Florio says no. Watch here. [[link removed]] Editors’ Picks Cristiano Ronaldo Skips Game to Express Displeasure With Saudi PIF [[link removed]]by Margaret Fleming [[link removed]]He’s never won a Saudi title since joining in late 2022. Ex-NFL Pro, Commanders Exec Says Women’s Sports Is An Undervalued Asset [[link removed]]by Ben Horney [[link removed]]Jason Wright oversees a fund that has secured $250 million. LIV Golf Finally Awarded World Ranking Points Ahead of 2026 Season [[link removed]]by David Rumsey [[link removed]]LIV wasn’t pleased with the new development. Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Games [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Shop [[link removed]] Written by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Daniel Roberts [[link removed]]

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