Nichols, who is white, was introduced in September 2019 as the NBA Finals host but the network later decided to promote Taylor, who is Black. Then came a report from The New York Times detailing comments colleague Rachel Nichols made about Taylor last year during the NBA’s restart in Florida. Taylor rejected an extension last year and the two sides were far apart heading into the NBA Finals. And I plan to pay it forward.”ĮSPN had been discussing a contract with Taylor for over a year but things reached a boiling point over the past month. Taylor said in a statement: “Literally, hosting the Olympics, Football Night in America, and the Super Bowl is what I dreamed of when I started in television – and this would not be possible without standing on the shoulders of all of those who came before me and made this path possible.

Taylor had hosted “NBA Countdown” since 2019 as well as being a reporter for “College GameDay” and ABC “Saturday Night Football” since 2017. Her last assignment for the network was Tuesday night at the NBA Finals, where she was the pregame and postgame host for the network’s “NBA Countdown” show. Taylor had been with ESPN since 2014 but her contract expired Tuesday. We are very excited for her to join us right away in Tokyo,” NBC Sports chairman Pete Bevacqua said in a statement. We are always looking to improve, and Maria is going to make us better. “Maria has excelled in a wide range of roles at marquee events, and will be a powerful addition to our team. NBC also said that Taylor will be a host and contributor for “Football Night in America” on Sundays during NFL season and will host the network’s coverage of this season’s Super Bowl. Her first assignment for NBC will be the Tokyo Olympics, where she will join Mike Tirico during the nightly 2 1/2 to 3 hours of “Prime Plus” coverage as well as serve as a correspondent. NBC formally made the announcement during its primetime Olympic show Friday before a replay of the opening ceremony.ĮSPN and Taylor announced Wednesday that they could not agree on a new contract. Maria Taylor has joined NBC less than a week after her contract with ESPN expired.

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