State Farm halftime show commentators are Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Whitworth, and Richard Sherman.
The inception of televised football games on Thursday night commenced in the 1970s. ABC aired a handful of games on Thursdays from 1978 to 1986. ESPN also broadcasted these games.
The official entry of Thursday Night Football dates to November 23, 2006. The Thanksgiving matchup between Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos ended with a 19-10 score, favoring the Chiefs.
In 2014, an eight-game deal was made between CBS Sports and the NFL for $275 million. A second-year option was levied in 2015 worth $300 million.
The 2016 and 2017 seasons of TNF were televised on CBS, NBC, and NFL Network. Fox acquired its rights from 2018 to 2021.
The last shift came in March 2021 when Amazon announced its partnership with the TNF. The 11-year deal for an annual fee of $1 billion was agreed.
The package lets Amazon air 15 regular season games and one preseason match yearly.
State Farm Halftime Show Hosts 2023
State Farm halftime announcers include sportscaster and TV host Charissa Thompson along with four former National Football League players.
The ensemble was brought together in 2022 for the inaugural season with the newly acquired billion-dollar deal.
Thursday Night Football halftime announcers are three former NFL players, Fitzpatrick, Whitworth, and Sherman, with no prior broadcasting experience. But they are game veterans and share 44 years of professional football career, making them qualified enough to take center stage.
Charissa Thompson
Charissa hails from Seattle, Washington, and has been actively working as a host and reporter in the sportscasting business since 2006.
The alma mater of UC, Santa Barbara, graduated in 2004 with a degree in Law and Society.
The first start in her broadcasting career came with Big Ten Network and Fox Sports Net. She worked in various college sports programs like college football and college basketball.
Her progressive trajectory saw her land the role of a sideline reporter covering the NFL for the Fox network.
She appeared in ‘NFL Now Update’ and covered the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games 2010. A year later, ESPN hired her to co-host ‘Numbers Never Lie.’ She also worked on projects like ‘SportsNation,’ and ‘First Take.’
A U-turn to Fox Sports was noticed in 2013 as the company launched FS1. She has been working as a Fox NFL Kickoff show host since then.
Tony Gonzalez
Mr. Gonzalez was a former Tight End for the Kansas City Chiefs (1997 to 2008) and the Atlanta Falcons (2009 to 2013).
The Pro Football Hall of Famer covered 15,127 receiving yards while making 111 touchdowns in his seventeen-year career.
The 14 appearances in the Pro Bowl place him second on the list, along with Peyton Manning, Bruce Matthews, and Merlin Olsen. Tom Brady (15) sits comfortably on the top of the chart.
Tony has the NFL record for most receiving yards by a TE and most career receptions by a TE (1,325).
The 13th pick of the 1997 draft played his college years with the California Golden Bears.
In 2016, he started his broadcasting career with CBS when he appeared in the ‘NFL Today.’ Likewise, from 2017 to 2021, he worked on Fox pregame shows.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Ryan returns for his second season as a pregame analyst for Amazon. Last year marked his debut after announcing his retirement on June 2, 2022.
The ex-quarterback played for the Harvard Crimson and won the 2004 Ivy League. He was adjudged the 2004 Ivy League Player of the Year.
His selection in the 2005 NFL Draft came at the 250th number when the St. Louis Rams took him as their only QB from the draft.
In his seventeen years, he played for nine franchises:
- St. Louis Rams (2005-06)
- Cincinnati Bengals (2007-08)
- Buffalo Bills (2009-12)
- Tennessee Titans (2013)
- Houston Texans (2014)
- New York Jets (2015-16)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2017-18)
- Miami Dolphins (2019-20)
- Washington Football Team (2021)
He started for all these teams, which is an NFL record. He threw for 34,990 yards with a completion rate of 60.7%.
Andrew Whitworth
Whitworth joined Amazon’s TNF as an analyst in 2022. Earlier on the 15th of March, he hung up his boots and bid farewell to football.
The Cincinnati Bengals took him as the No. 55 choice in the 2006 draft. The Louisiana State University alumnus played as a Tackle. He won the BCS National Championship in 2003 with the Tigers.
He played with the Bengals till 2016. In the 2007 and 2008 seasons, he was teammates with Fitzpatrick.
After playing eleven years for Cincinnati, Andrew went to the Los Angeles Rams on a three-year deal in 2017. He won Super Bowl LVI with them and was awarded the 2021 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year.
The four-time Pro Bowler played in 239 matches, where he started in 235.
Richard Sherman
The five-time Pro Bowler (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019) is another person entering his second year as an analyst.
Sherman is a former cornerback who played seven years with the Seattle Seahawks (2011 to 2017). He made the First-team All-Pro thrice (2012 to 2014) and won the Super Bowl XLVIII.
He was also the NFL interception leader in 2013.
In 2018, he was acquired by the San Francisco 49ers on a three-year contract with $39 million. He started in 34 games and made 116 combined tackles.
Likewise, his last year in the NFL came with the Buccaneers. He inked a one-year contract for $2.25 million in 2021. He laid five games, made 11 combined tackles and one interception, and recovered a fumble.
Following his coalition with Amazon, Fox hired him to appear in ‘Show on Stars.’ He also co-hots ‘Undisputed’ with Skip Bayless.
State Farm Halftime Show Cast
State Farm halftime show cast covers Michael Smith, Taylor Rooks, and Marshawn Lynch. All three have been working with Amazon since 2022.
Lynch is another ex-football player in the TNF halftime team. The Buffalo Bills drafted him in the 12th overall in 2007.
The Running Back played four years for the Bills. He was with the Seattle Seahawks (2010-15 and 2019) and Oakland Raiders (2017-18).
The SB XLVIII winner and five-time Pro Bowler announced his retirement via Twitter on February 7, 2016. A year later, on the 26th of April, he came out of retirement and was traded to the Raiders.
He joined the likes of Randy Moss, Reggie White, Deion Sanders, Randall Cunningham, Rob Gronkowski, John Riggins, and Ricky Williams to return after retirement.
He owns the professional indoor football teams Bay Area Panthers and FCF Beasts.
Taylor Rooks
Rooks has been working as a sportscaster since 2012. A graduate in broadcast journalism from the University of Illinois started her journey with Scout.com.
With a brief experience covering football and basketball, she was hired by the Big Ten Network, where she appeared as a reporter and on-air host.
Her other work experience includes the presenter role at SportsNet New York and sideline reporting for CBS Sports.
Taylor is a contributor and feature reporter in the Thursday Night Football halftime crew. She handles player and coach interviews.
Micahel Smith
Smith is the news analyst and contributor for the halftime show. He is a sports commentator and sportswriter by profession and has been active since 2004.
He started with The Boston Globe in 2001, covering the New England Patriots. ESPN hired him in 2004 as a senior writer.
He molded himself into an anchor and participated in various shows like Mike & Mike, Outside the Lines, College Football Live, SportsNation, and more.
Michael became a full-time host for ‘Numbers Never Lie’ from 20111 to 2014. His other affiliations comprise His & Hers, Highly Questionable Around The Horn, and First Take.
In 2020, NBC acquired him as a co-host for Brother from Another.
Thursday Night Football And State Farm
State Farm is the halftime show sponsor for Amazon show Thursday Night Football. They are one of the five primary sponsors for the year.
The halftime panel discussion featuring Charissa Thompson, Tony Gonzalez, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Whitworth, and Richard Sherman is titled The State Farm Halftime Show. It appears during the second and third-quarter intervals of every TNF game.
Other sponsors and their associated shows in TNF are as follows:
- Verizon: TNF Tonight presented by Verizon
- Subway: TNF Kickoff presented by Subway
- JC Penny: The JC Penny Postgame Show
- Allstate: TNF Nightcap presented by Allstate
Amy McDevitt, head of sports brand partnerships at Amazon, said, “It’s a lot of blood, sweat, and tears when you enter into a creative partnership because these brands are entrusting you with their messaging and with their brand essence.”
McDevitt further added that they will work closely with the affiliated brands to make them heard by the public and deliver their objectives.
Mercedes-Benz USA, Audible, Carnival Cruise Line, Little Caesars, and DraftKings were the last year’s sponsors.