Goodbye, friends. I’m planning on retiring in 2036.
Jim Nantz told a Scottish golf magazine in a story published Wednesday that he plans to broadcast through the playing of the 100th Masters in 2036. Like the scent of azaleas and pimento cheese sandwiches, few things are more associated with the Masters than Nantz.
“A lot of things have to happen for that to occur,” he told the magazine. “First off, my health would have to hold up. Secondly, CBS and Augusta National would have to want me to come back. But if all the stars aligned, right now, it feels like a pretty good exit point. April 14, 2036. That is my scheduled retirement date. It would be a perfect place to walk out — but I know what’s going to happen. I’m going to get to that year, and I’m going to say, ‘You know, maybe I could do this for a while longer.’ ”
What’s interesting about this week’s news is Nantz’s consistency. In 2016, Nantz also went deep with me into his desire to broadcast the Masters in 2036.
“I would like to work 50 Masters Tournaments. That would be the thing that keeps me going. I want to work 50 Masters,” he said then.
“Knowing that the Masters always ends on the second Sunday in April every year, I looked it up: My 50th Masters would be April 8, 2035. So I thought that would be the day I would retire. But then I sat down and had an after-dinner drink with Jack Whitaker after the event he presented me at a couple of years ago. He said I heard what you said up there about doing 50 Masters. I said, ‘What do you think?’ He said, ‘Well, you have to do 51.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ He said, ‘Well, 2036, that will be the 100th playing of the Masters, and you need to be there.’
“So Jack Whitaker gave me a new goal, redefined what I want the back end of my career to look like. I know it sounds a little crazy. Here we are in 2016 talking like this. But there are great, iconic voices working in their 70s, churning out quality work. This is all subject to be reexamined, but I want to make it to 2036, health willing and CBS willing. I’d like to do that for Jack Whitaker. I would be 76 years old. There are broadcasters working at that age and even older. I love what I do. Every show is its own challenge and I love it. It will be a hard thing to let go of, but that is one thing I would love to be able to achieve one day.”
Nantz has always been into numerology and loves broadcasting history, so he’s serious about his 2036 plans. If his health permits, CBS Sports would likely be very supportive given his years of broadcasting for the company, and how the golf-viewing public perceives him in his Masters role. CBS Sports was similarly thoughtful last year when celebrating the great Verne Lundquist as the longtime CBS broadcaster made his 40th and final Masters call at 83.
In the last two decades, the broadcaster’s lifespan has been redefined as far as longevity in the booth. Al Michaels is still calling games at 80 for Amazon. Hubie Brown called his last NBA game this year at 91. Nantz is a spring chicken in this comparison.
It sets up for an interesting CBS Masters broadcast this year as the tournament debuts five additional live hours of the third and final rounds, including two hours on Paramount+ for both rounds.
(Photo: Harry How / Getty Images)