On Sept. 21, 1975, CBS’ NFL pregame show, “The NFL Today,” became the first live NFL pregame show in history. That show also marked the beginning of the show’s run with host Brent Musburger, former NFL star Irv Cross and 1971’s Miss America Phyllis George, as its cast. On Sunday, CBS will turn back the clocks 50 years to celebrate the show’s anniversary.
Musburger, who is the only surviving member of the original trio (George and Cross passed away in 2020 and 2021, respectively, while Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder, who joined the show in 1976, passed away in 1996), will appear on Sunday’s episode.
Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal also reported that Sunday’s show will include “specialized graphics, music and even announcer wardrobes.”
“CBS’s crew of Musburger, James Brown, Matt Ryan, Bill Cowher and Nate Burleson will appear from a recreated studio meant to mimic 1975,” Carpenter reported. “Show segments will hearken back to that era, from graphics to music.”
When CBS announced who will be calling the network’s Week 3 games, the post on X (formerly Twitter) used retro graphics.
It’s NFL Throwback Week on the @NFLonCBS!
Here are the Week 3 Game Announcers pic.twitter.com/saY4wPvGjm
— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) September 15, 2025
Friday’s episode of CBS Mornings featured a segment commemorating the anniversary of the show. In it, Dana Jacobson talked about the history of the show with its current crew.
“I remember it vividly,” Cowher said when asked if he remembered watching it in 1975. “I remember watching the pregame show. I remember sitting there and it coming on at 12 o’clock.”
“I definitely did watch it then, even though basketball was my sport,” Brown added. “Because it was a groundbreaking show then.”
“The one thing I always remember about The NFL Today, it just to me was fascinating to see a player, a broadcaster and a woman and the different viewpoints that they had,” Cowher noted. “And I’m thinking, ‘OK, isn’t that kinda what America’s all about?”
“This is a tremendous responsibility,” Burleson said of being on the show. “The way it was explained to me a long time ago. The seat that we sit in is prime real estate. So make sure we take care of it.”