Former Chicago White Sox play-by-play broadcaster Jason Benetti has emerged as a leading candidate to become NBC’s lead MLB play-by-play voice.
Former Chicago White Sox play-by-play broadcaster Jason Benetti is, as usual, moving on up in the broadcasting world.
A Chicagoland native, Benetti replaced Hall of Fame broadcaster Hawk Harrelson on the South Side and called White Sox games alongside Steve Stone from 2016–2023. With his witty charm and uncanny feel for the big moments, Benetti quickly endeared himself to the fanbase and became just as revered as Harrelson was before him.
In short order, he turned into an iconic figure in Chicago sports media—and one of the best play-by-play broadcasters in the country.
A strained relationship with the organization eventually pushed Benetti to pursue greener pastures following the 2023 season, much to the chagrin of Sox fans. He landed on his feet as the television voice of the Detroit Tigers, while continuing to cover college football, college basketball, and the occasional MLB game for FOX Sports.
Even so, Benetti still sits behind Joe Davis and Adam Amin — fantastic broadcasters in their own right — on the MLB depth chart.
But as always, talent rises to the top—and Benetti has it in droves. According to a report from Front Office Sports, “Benetti has emerged as the leading candidate to be the top MLB play-by-play voice on NBC.”
He already has experience on the platform, having called MLB Sunday morning games on NBC’s Peacock streaming service, with first pitch coming as early as 10:30 a.m. local time.
This past November, Major League Baseball and NBCUniversal announced an agreement to bring live baseball games back to NBC and Peacock beginning with the 2026 season. Enter Benetti, seemingly poised to land the national gig he deserves.
Benetti’s style feels tailor-made for a national broadcast. He balances modern analytics with old-school reverence for the game, can pivot seamlessly between humor and gravity, and never talks down to the audience. That versatility matters on a national stage, where casual viewers and diehards are watching the same broadcast—and expecting to feel equally included.
For an organization that has made its share of talent-evaluation mistakes over the past decade, there may be none worse than the Chicago White Sox allowing Benetti to walk out the door—done in by egos of those in charge and an archaic organizational perspective.
Alas, White Sox fans will continue to cheer on “the one that got away” as he inevitably reaches the pinnacle of the broadcasting world. This feels less like a surprise and more like the next logical step in Jason Benetti’s ascending career.