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NBC Sports just got a new addition to their lineup of hosts and analysts and it's a name sports fans are quite familiar with. Longtime ESPN host Maria Taylor has officially joined the network, and her first assignment is the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Taylor, whose ESPN contract expired with the conclusion of the NBA Finals, immediately flew to Tokyo and joined NBC's Mike Tirico to help cover the Games.
Maria Taylor's time at ESPN
Maria Taylor, a former college volleyball player at the University of Georgia, was hired by ESPN in 2013 to cover Saturday night college football on ESPN2 as well as NCAA Women's Basketball and Volleyball.
In 2014, Taylor began working with the newly created SEC Network. At the SEC Network, Taylor hosted the Saturday morning show and was also a sideline reporter for SEC Saturday night college football games.
In 2017, Taylor replaced Samantha Ponder as the "ESPN College GameDay" host, a weekly Saturday morning show and worked as a sideline reporter on "Saturday Night Football" on ABC.
In 2020, ESPN named Taylor as the host for the NBA Countdown Finals: Pre-game and Post-Game Show. In Week 1 of the NFL season, Taylor reported on her first NFL game, a Monday night matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants.
Now a member of the NBC Sports family, Maria Taylor will be part of the "Football Night in America" team, every Sunday on NBC. She will also be a part of NBC's coverage of Super Bowl LVI in February 2022.
Taylor's contract negotiations with ESPN and the Rachel Nichols comments
ESPN and Maria Taylor were reportedly trying to negotiate a contract extension since last summer. Neither side was able to agree on a deal or even come close to an agreement.
Earlier this month, ESPN NBA host Rachel Nichols was heard on a "hot mic," saying that she felt ABC/ESPN had given Taylor the "NBA Countdown" show simply to offer diversity on the network. While Nichols apologized shortly after the recording was released, she was taken off the NBA Finals coverage.
Over the last few weeks, rumors were swirling that Taylor, would be leaving the network.
Maria Taylor then proceeded to cover the NBA Finals. Her last show was the "NBA Countdown: Postgame" show last Tuesday night after the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns and won the NBA championship.
