Phil Simms to call Big Ten games for Peacock in 2025

Giants legend Phil Simms is returning to the broadcast booth after his exit from CBS.

The star quarterback, who called games for NBC and CBS from 1995 to 2016, will work three Big Ten college football games on Peacock this season, NBC Sports announced Tuesday.

Simms was tabbed to serve as an analyst for the Illinois-Western Illinois game on Aug. 29, the Rutgers-Miami (OH) game on Sept. 6 and a third game to be determined alongside play-by-play announcer Paul Burmeister.

“I am very happy to be working again for NBC Sports doing college football games. I have had a great relationship with Paul Burmeister over many years so I know it going to be fun and exciting to work with him,” Simms said. “I appreciate NBC for giving me this opportunity and I can’t wait for the college football season to start.”

The Super Bowl XXI MVP last played for the Giants in 1993 before joining ESPN as a studio analyst for the 1994 NFL season.

He was then part of NBC’s lead broadcast crew with Dick Enberg and Paul Maguire for three seasons. Simms and Maguire also called a 1995 Notre Dame-Texas game with Tom Hammond for NBC.

Simms also announced weightlifting events during the 1996 Olympics and was a sideline reporter during NBA games.

When CBS acquired the AFC package from NBC in 1998, CBS hired Simms and paired him with Greg Gumbel and later Jim Nantz.

Simms was an analyst for eight Super Bowls before being replaced in the booth by Tony Romo.

He worked as a studio analyst for CBS’s “THE NFL Today” from 2017 to 2023 before he was part of the network’s major makeover as his contract expired.

Simms, who worked at the network for 26 years, exited the show alongside former Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason while Matt Ryan and JJ Watt succeeded the pair in 2024.

“Nobody asked me, talked to me or anything like that,” Simms told the “Front Office Sports Today” podcast in May 2024. “I waited for I guess over a couple months to see what CBS was doing, and I think the longer you wait, the more you know it’s not gonna work out in your favor.”

Chris Simms, former NFL quarterback and Phil’s son, will also call Big Ten games this season.

“We’re excited to welcome Phil back to the NBC Sports team,” said Sam Flood, executive producer at NBC Sports. “Phil is an elite analyst who gives the viewers the why of the game, while making sure to entertain. We are looking forward to having him back on the call for Peacock.”