The Masters Tournament or The Super Bowl? A tough one that is, but not for Jim Nantz. With 40 Masters broadcasts under his belt, Nantz has been a part of the tournament’s coverage for 37 consecutive years, starting in 1986. This week, he’s celebrating his 40th year in the booth and he would not change anything about it, he says.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Dan Patrick Show on YouTube, Jim Nantz said, “I wouldn’t trade the Masters for anything in the world,” when asked to choose between calling one more Masters or one more Super Bowl. With an illustrious career spanning decades, Nantz has established himself as one of the most iconic voices in sports broadcasting. He’s called seven Super Bowls for CBS Sports, including Super Bowl LVIII in 2024, and has completed the rare broadcasting triple of Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four. In 2025, he reached a milestone, calling his 500th NFL game, a first in CBS history for a play-by-play announcer. Despite his impressive resume with the Super Bowl, Nantz’s heart belongs to the Masters.
We all know that the Masters is more than just a tournament for everyone but for Nantz, it’s a passion that stems from his childhood dreams. “It’s again that little boy… what’s inside here, what’s inside the heart.” As a young boy, Nantz was obsessive about the Masters, eagerly awaiting the tournament each year and flipping between all-news stations WINS and WCBS to catch the latest scores, which were often slow to update. “I would flip to WCBS and just hope they would give me some Masters scores… It was a Neanderthal era of sports updating and I was a consumer just hanging on, dying for any morsel of information,” he recently said in his interview PGA Tour.
He recalls being inspired by the iconic voices of golf broadcasting legends and wanted to be one of those voices himself. “I wanted to be one of those voices. I didn’t care about being on television. I wanted to be able to tell the stories like the voices of my youth were telling me long ago.” Nantz has had the opportunity to call several major championships, including the PGA Championship and the Open Championship for the BBC, however, the Masters holds a special place in his heart.
Jim Nantz reflects on his 40 years hosting Masters
Jim Nantz is currently hosting the 2025 Masters at Augusta National and he is filled with gratitude. “It’s hard to believe it’s that number,” he said. “That number is really staggering if I pause for a second… I’m actually overwhelmed with gratitude.” Nantz’s journey began in 1986 when he joined the CBS Masters broadcast team as a 26-year-old. He vividly remembers his first year, calling the 16th hole and witnessing Jack Nicklaus‘s historic sixth green jacket win. “I can feel that initial voyage so clearly. It’s so vivid in my mind, what it was like, it doesn’t feel possible that I’m 39 years beyond that now.”
Nantz’s approach to hosting the Masters has always been rooted in humility and appreciation. “I take each one with a tremendous level of appreciation for the gift that it is, with no entitlement, anticipation, or expectation that it’s anything but right now, living in the moment, living present, and savoring every second of it while it’s right in front of me.” As he ends his 40th year hosting the Masters with only two rounds left, Nantz is poised to continue delivering his signature blend of storytelling and play-by-play, making the Masters an unforgettable experience for fans worldwide yet again.
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