Steve Kornacki, NBC’s national political correspondent, was a breakout media star of the 2020 election and now he will bring his brand of analysis to the NFL by breaking down the playoff scenarios for NBC’s ‘Football Night in America’ show, Sunday at 7 p.m. EST and at halftime of the Broncos-Chiefs game.
Kornacki, who is gay and a huge sports fan, became a viral social media star during election week with his often-manic and always entertaining “Big Board” breakdowns of results as they came in from each state. At one point, MSNBC set up a “Kornacki cam” shown during commercials so viewers wouldn’t miss anything of his marathon that went 44 hours without him sleeping at one point.
His profile has been raised immensely by how accessible and entertaining he made analyzing election results. He was dubbed a “chartthrob,” Gap said he caused sales of the type of khakis he wore to spike and he was named one of People’s “Sexiest Men Alive.”
“Steve captivated millions of viewers during election season and we’re excited that this Sunday he will turn his focus to playoff season,” said Sam Flood, executive producer of NBC Sports, in a news release. “As we push to the playoffs, who better to spot the trends, make the call about division and conference races, and identify the toss-up games that can flip the standings than the man in the khakis.”
“I’ve been a fan of the game since I was kid and Sunday Night Football has been must-see TV for me since it started back in ’06,” said Kornacki. “Truly a thrill to get this chance, especially as the season reaches its most exciting point. I spent the last year using the Big Board to map out all of the various roads to 270 and I can’t wait to put it to use breaking down all of the paths to the playoffs.”
I don’t know data like Kornacki does, but I can give him one tip — the Jets will not make the playoffs.
