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Thursday Night Football Kicks Off September 15 on Prime Video With Powerhouse AFC West Matchup, as Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs Host Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers

Apr 28, 2022

Pro Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez to join Amazon TNF team as NFL analyst

LAS VEGAS—April 28, 2022­—Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will host Justin Herbert and their AFC West rivals the Los Angeles Chargers in the historic first Thursday Night Football (TNF) game exclusively on Prime Video, September 15. Pregame coverage begins at 7 p.m. EDT. The announcement was made today by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, onstage at the NFL Draft in Las Vegas.

Joining the Commissioner for the announcement was former Chiefs star and Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez, who has joined the Amazon team as an NFL analyst. Gonzalez will provide expert analysis and commentary as a key part of the TNF pregame, halftime, and postgame shows. Gonzalez, who currently stars in the drama series Long Slow Exhale, is considered one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history.

The last meeting between the Chiefs and Chargers in 2021 was an overtime thriller in LA, with Travis Kelce catching a 34-yard pass from Mahomes on his way to scoring the game-winning TD.

The complete Thursday Night Football schedule will be announced May 12.

“I am thrilled to be joining the team at Prime Video where they are breaking new ground as the first streaming service to secure an exclusive national broadcast package from the NFL,” said Gonzalez. “Prime Video is changing the game, offering fans unrivaled and innovative ways to watch the most exciting Thursday Night Football matchups. I can’t wait to go back to where it all started for me in Kansas City on September 15.”

“We could not be more excited to have Tony join the team here at Amazon,” said Jared Stacy, director of Global Live Sports Production, Prime Video. “In addition to his Hall of Fame credentials on the field, Tony is a dynamic, thoughtful personality, who is incredibly passionate about the NFL. We look forward to Tony connecting with fans every Thursday night and are thrilled to have him as a focal point of our TNF team.”

“Chargers-Chiefs is a classic AFC West rivalry featuring two of the most exciting young QBs in the game today. With the electric atmosphere at Arrowhead, there’s no better setting for the first exclusiveThursday Night Football telecast on Prime Video,” said Marie Donoghue, vice president of Global Sports Video, Amazon.

Gonzalez joins a Thursday Night Football team that includes iconic play-by-play announcer Al Michaels, and Emmy award-winning football analyst Kirk Herbstreit in the booth. Fred Gaudelli, a 24-time Emmy winner, is the executive producer of Thursday Night Football.  

Kicking off September 15, Prime Video will become the first streaming service to air a season-long exclusive national broadcast package with the NFL. The 11-year deal includes 15 regular-season games and one preseason game per year, with Prime Video also delivering new pregame, halftime, and postgame shows as well as fan-favorite interactive features like X-Ray and Next Gen Stats powered by AWS. Prime Video and the NFL will continue to collaborate on exclusive NFL content and enhanced fan-viewing experiences around Thursday Night Football, with more information to follow in the coming months. The games will also stream live on Twitch and will be available on over-the-air TV stations in the two home markets of the competing teams. For all the latest information regarding TNF on Prime Video, visit amazon.com/TNF. To join Prime or start a free 30-day trial, visit amazon.com/prime.

Gonzalez’s career spanned 17 years in the NFL, 12 with Kansas City after being their first-round pick in 1997, and five with Atlanta before his retirement in 2013. At the time of his retirement, he was the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdowns (111), and remains the all-time leader in receiving yards (15,127) by a tight end. He also is the NFL’s all-time leader in Pro Bowl appearances (14) by a tight end and ranks third overall among all players in receptions, with 1,325 for his career. Known for his strength and durability, Gonzalez missed only two games during his 17-year career.

Following his retirement after the 2013 NFL season, Gonzalez took his talents to television, appearing as a regular studio analyst on The NFL Today (2014-16), and contributing to other NFL related programming on CBS. From 2017-2020, Gonzalez served as a Fox Sports studio analyst on FOX NFL Kickoff, Fox’s hour-long NFL pregame show preceding FOX NFL Sunday. Gonzalez also co-hosted Fox’s Thursday NFL pregame show, which received a 2020 Sports Emmy Award nomination for ‘Outstanding Studio Show – Weekly.’

Gonzalez currently stars as Desmond Porter in Spectrum Originals’ drama series Long Slow Exhale. Set in the high-stakes world of women’s basketball, Gonzalez portrays a former professional football player and father. Gonzalez is also in production on Nickelodeon and Awesomeness Films’ upcoming feature Fantasy Football, alongside Omari Hardwick, Kelly Rowland, and Marsai Martin.

In 2019, CBS News named Gonzalez one of their “Fathers of the Year.” He also launched his podcast Wide Open with Tony Gonzalez, which has been ranked within the top 50 Health & Fitness podcasts on Apple platform. An author, philanthropist and entrepreneur, Gonzalez currently serves as the Chief Wellness Ambassador for Caldera + Lab.

About Prime Video Sports
Prime Video supports a growing lineup of live sports globally, including Thursday Night Football, the WNBA, the Seattle Storm, the New York Yankees, and Seattle Sounders FC in the United States; Premier League in the United Kingdom; US Open Tennis, ATP, and WTA in the United Kingdom and Ireland; UEFA Champions League football in Germany and Italy; Roland Garros and Ligue 1 in France; Australian Swimming globally; and New Zealand Cricket in India. While availability varies by marketplace, fans can also subscribe to streaming services such as Eurosport, FOX Sports (Mexico), LaLigaTV, MLB.TV, NBA League Pass, NBA TV, and Premiere FC (Brazil) through Prime Video Channels. This is in addition to a selection of Amazon Original All or Nothing sports docuseries including All or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur, All or Nothing: Juventus, All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs, and All or Nothing seasons with the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams, Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers, and Philadelphia Eagles, as well as the NCAA’s Michigan Wolverines football team.

About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.