NBC's Maria Taylor will reportedly handle one of the top honors at Super Bowl 60 this year.
Taylor, who's already set to host the network's five-hour pregame special before handing things off to Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth, will reportedly add another massive task to her Super Bowl Sunday duties.
After the big game concludes, she'll also be the one handing off the Lombardi Trophy to the winning team — something Tirico did back in 2022 when the Rams beat the Bengals at SoFi Stadium.
Maria Taylor celebrates 'pinch-me moment' ahead of Super Bowl LX
In a conversation with SI's Jimmy Traina, Taylor talked about how excited she is to hand off the Super Bowl trophy to the winning side. Saying, it's the honor of a lifetime just to cover the championship game — let alone be the one giving out the trophy.
“I will say it’s a tremendous privilege to be the person that is presenting the Lombardi Trophy,” Taylor said earlier this week. “You know what I mean? How rare [it is]. I mean, working the Super Bowl in general, too, but things like that, those are pinch-me moments outside of the already unbelievable situations that are happening for the entire month of February. But I will say, that’s special.”
Taylor talks high-pressure TV moments prior to big game
Elsewhere in the conversation, Taylor talked about everything that goes into handling those type of high-leverage moments when emotions are high and players and coaches are celebrating.
“Usually you’re managing emotions that are happening at the end of a game like the Super Bowl,” Taylor said. “You’re rallying everyone together and also trying to make sure that you’re getting to — you might have to hit a sponsor or a very specific name or something like that. So those are like the three things that you’re constantly thinking about when you’re doing a trophy ceremony,” Maria explained.
“Don’t let them take the mic,” Taylor added. “That is the key. You just have to have a strong wrist. They could not take the mic from you, right?”
Taylor took over as NBC's lead host three years ago when Mike Tirico shifted to the booth following Al Michaels' departure. Now the former Georgia volleyball player is a regular of the network's primetime programming and one of the biggest stars in sports media.