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Gus Johnson reveals why he will not be calling NFL games for 2022 season

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•04/22/22•

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Photo by Porter Binks/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images

Gus Johnson is one of the most well-respected play-by-play announcers in the business. He’s known for his passionate calls and currently works as the lead college football broadcaster for FOX.

But his schedule will be a lot less hectic this year.

Johnson, 54, is taking a break from calling NFL games, which he did alongside Aqib Talib last season, he told The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch. He’ll still be the voice of FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff on Saturdays alongside “his quarterback” Joel Klatt, but he’ll now have Sundays off so he can attend his classes.

That’s right. He’s taking classes. Johnson enrolled in Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative, and that adds to his already busy schedule.

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to do the NFL this year, Rich, because I went back to school,” Johnson said, via Awful Announcing’s Jay Rigdon. “I’m back in college now. And my classes are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. So I’m probably going to need to call the college games on Saturday, and it’s a good thing they’re at noon, so I can call the college games on Saturday and then get a flight and get back. So I can prepare for classes on Monday, and I’ll have all Sunday to do that.

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“At my age, the travel and prep work isn’t hard, but it’s a lot of work so I’m probably going to have to take a timeout on the NFL this year.”

Fans know Johnson’s enthusiastic calls from college football and basketball over the years. But he added some more to his name this week. TNT brought Johnson in to call two NBA Playoffs games: the Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers on Monday and the Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, and fans loved it.

Johnson’s departure leaves another NFL opening at FOX. Joe Buck left the network along with Troy Aikman to form the new booth for Monday Night Football at ESPN. Kevin Burkhardt was promoted to replace Buck as FOX’s No. 1 NFL broadcaster, and it’s unclear who’ll succeed Aikman. Now, another new voice will hit the airwaves this season while Johnson takes the year off.