If you ever have a chance to visit Kevin Harlan at his century-old home in Mission Hills, Kansas, ask the famed sports broadcaster if you can see the collection of weekly calendar books on the first floor of his house, just off the living room. Or maybe take a look at the older ones on the second floor, tucked away inside a file cabinet in a storage room. What you\u2019ll discover on the pages of these 8-by-5 leather journals is the story of Harlan\u2019s 40-year work life.<\/p>\n
Harlan is a writer by nature, and his Arcadia burgundy-colored weekly planners contain the secrets of how he has managed his work assignments for three national employers \u2014 CBS Sports, Amazon Prime Video and Westwood One Sports \u2014 as well as his previous employer (Turner Sports), various commercial appearances and projects such as providing a voice for the NBA 2K video game franchise (since 2005).<\/p>\n
\u201cI can tell you that Annie [Harlan\u2019s wife] and I first met on March 7, 1987,\u201d Harlan said. \u201cWe had our first date on March 10, we were engaged in June and married that Christmas. I knew the moment I saw her. That was my first year broadcasting the University of Missouri.<\/p>\n
\u201cI keep all of my travel notes in the calendar books, things like what flights I\u2019m on and what airline routes I like to take. Because there are so many games with different employers, if I don\u2019t stay on schedule, well, I don\u2019t like that feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
You might guess that Harlan would have a personal assistant, given his various assignments for three employers, but your guess would be incorrect. He researches all of his flight information himself, then books his itinerary with the help of the travel departments at each of his employers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI keep all of my travel notes in the calendar books, things like what flights I\u2019m on and what airline routes I like to take. Because there are so many games with different employers, if I don\u2019t stay on schedule, well, I don\u2019t like that feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 \u00a0Kevin Harlan<\/p>\n
Harlan makes sure to have up-to-date information on backup flights (and sometimes backups for the backups) because he never wants to miss an assignment. During his career, there were stretches when he did five games in six days for three employers, so he had to become skilled at travel that works best for his body and mind.<\/p>\n
For instance, when Harlan calls a West Coast-based NFL game for CBS on a Sunday, he will fly to either Chicago, Detroit or Houston afterward and stay overnight in one of those cities so he can get an early flight the next morning to make his Westwood One game. (Being at a major Midwestern hub gives him more flight options, as well as a chance to get some sleep \u2014 he prefers not to fly red-eye flights.) Harlan is easily one of the most well-traveled sportscasters of his era.<\/p>\n
![\"Travel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/URIQPIKKJNHFLJA5WU2GZL6DTM.jpg\")
In this calendar entry, Kevin Harlan plans out his work schedule for the week of Jan 12, 2026, including two NFL assignments (Texans at Steelers and Rams at Bears) for Westwood One Audio and an NBA game for Prime Video (Thunder at Rockets). The cities included Pittsburgh, Dulles, Va., Kansas City, Houston and Chicago. You can see notes on specific hotels that Harlan researched as well as notes on various family outings that week. Kevin Harlan <\/p>\n
\u201cHere\u2019s a quick thing that just happened a couple of months ago,\u201d Harlan said. \u201cI was at the Green Bay airport and had a Wisconsin-Michigan college basketball game in Ann Arbor the next day [on Jan. 10]. I was gonna take a five o\u2019clock nonstop to Detroit the night before the game, but the plane was delayed because it caught fire after it landed in Green Bay. Now it\u2019s six o\u2019 clock at night and I have a noon game in Ann Arbor. There are no flights and I don\u2019t want to fly the day of the game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked CBS to get me a rental car, and I drove the seven-and-a-half hours. I arrived in Ann Arbor at 3:30 in the morning, slept till about nine, showered and cleaned up, and got to the arena two hours before tipoff. Sure, I would have preferred not to have driven during the night before a big game with Robbie [Hummel] and Raf [Bill Raftery], but CBS was very understanding, the weather wasn\u2019t bad and I got there safely.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been a couple of those over the years that I\u2019ve had to navigate, but it\u2019s worked out by the grace of God.\u201d<\/p>\n
Father\u2019s legacy<\/p>\n
Think about this: Harlan has been the lead announcer for Westwood One radio\u2019s coverage of \u201cMonday Night Football\u201d since 2010. That means between CBS and Westwood One assignments, he has called more than 35 national NFL games every season over the past 16 years. February marked his 16th-straight Super Bowl, the most in radio or television history as far as consecutive Super Bowls called for a national broadcaster. He is easily in the top-five all time as far as the number of national NFL games called by a single broadcaster.<\/p>\n
Harlan said one of the reasons he believes he has successfully worked for multiple employers \u2014 he called NBA games for Turner Sports from 1996 to 2025 \u2014 is that he never viewed one employer as more important than another. He watched his father, the late Bob Harlan \u2014 who served as the Green Bay Packers\u2019 president and CEO, among other positions during his four decades with the franchise \u2014 smoothly glide between NFL hierarchy and the devout Green Bay fan base. That ability to navigate with different people rubbed off on Kevin.<\/p>\n
Bob entered hospice care in late February and passed away on March 5 at age 89. One of the few NBA games that Kevin had to cancel over his five decades was the Warriors-Rockets game the day Bob passed.<\/p>\n
\u201cKevin probably doesn\u2019t even remember this, but one of the first years he did for us, maybe 15 or 16 years ago, I was with him for a Packers game in Lambeau Field,\u201d said Mike Eaby, Westwood One vice president and executive producer. \u201cI knew he went to high school in Green Bay, but he didn\u2019t really talk about it much. After that game, he says, \u2018Let\u2019s go for a little bit of a walk.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just me and Kevin, and we ended up in the plaza outside of Lambeau Field that\u2019s named after his dad. He\u2019s like, \u2018Do you know where we are right now?\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018We\u2019re outside of Lambeau Field.\u2019 He\u2019s like, \u2018No, look at this plaque over here.\u2019 It was the Bob Harlan Plaza or something like that. I\u2019m like, \u2018Holy shit, Kevin, I didn\u2019t realize this.\u2019 I could tell he was just so proud. I understood Kevin a little more after that night.\u201d<\/p>\n
Equal opportunity employee<\/p>\n
Kevin Harlan has had the same agent for decades \u2014 CAA\u2019s Michael Glantz, who met Harlan when the sports broadcaster was a young pup calling Kansas City Chiefs games. At the time, Glantz worked for Art Kaminsky, a famed agent who represented Len Dawson, Harlan\u2019s then-partner calling games. <\/p>\n
\u201cMichael knows how I like to operate,\u201d Harlan said. \u201cI\u2019m not confrontational. I\u2019m not a big demand guy. I\u2019m more stunned that I\u2019m in this position than driven by ego. I always tell him, \u2018Michael, I need you to put me in your shoes when you\u2019re negotiating with [CBS Sports President and CEO] David [Berson] or [former CBS Sports Chairman] Sean [McManus], or any of these other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has an authentic level of humility, and part of that earnestness makes him not suffer from an overabundance of cockiness,\u201d said Glantz, who also represents Brad Nessler and news clients, including Savannah Guthrie. \u201cIt\u2019s funny \u2014 I have told him over the years that it\u2019s OK to schmooze with executives and that it\u2019s OK to play the game, but Kevin is simply not going to change. I love the guy for who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Kevin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GO7NWNJMTZCYRAH5X3X2L2DPRQ.jpeg\")
Harlan called NFL games for CBS with Rich Gannon from 2015 to 2019. CBS Sports <\/p>\n
Harlan and Glantz have always staggered the terms of Harlan\u2019s broadcasting deals, so that he\u2019s always working for at least one employer (if not more) when another contract is up. (His Amazon deal began this year and runs for three years; his current CBS contract runs past that.)<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a triangle and no employer is more important than the other,\u201d Harlan said. \u201cNow they pay differently, clearly, but what has been great \u2014 and I got this from my dad \u2014 is I try to be as honest with each. I never compromise the other. I would never say to CBS, \u2018Hey, I\u2019ve got a game for these guys in this city. Can you assign me there?\u2019 They don\u2019t care and they shouldn\u2019t care. When I\u2019m on your time, I\u2019m your guy, and I am 100% into that employer for that particular broadcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things I\u2019m most proud of is that I\u2019ve had long runs with every employer. I think sometimes in our business, that gets overlooked \u2014 longevity. To hold a job at that network level is a very difficult thing to do, let alone to do it at three different places. I take great pride in that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harlan joined CBS\u2019s NFL broadcast team in 1998 after four years of broadcasting the NFL on Fox Sports. When it comes to Harlan contractually, CBS is in \u201cfirst position,\u201d which means that Harlan sets his assignments first with CBS before moving on to his other employers. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is important to Kevin, to have the opportunity to call multiple sports for multiple media companies, and we\u2019re supportive of that,\u201d Berson said. \u201cHe\u2019s a big name and a big voice for CBS Sports. Working for Westwood One or Prime Video \u2014 or, in the past, Turner Sports \u2014 we don\u2019t think that takes away from the incredible work he does for CBS Sports. If anything, it probably helps build his profile, as more people on more platforms are exposed to his incredible work. His ability to do it underscores his work ethic.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see the bigger picture and have such admiration and respect for Kevin that we want to work with him, so that it works for his schedule, for his personal life.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Kevin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/LLNCQBADEREYPL56AYD5ANPH6I.jpg\")
Kevin Harlan works on Prime Video’s NBA coverage with Candace Parker at a game between the Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors on March 13, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images <\/p>\n
Jared Stacy, vice president of global live sports production for Prime Video, said the company\u2019s relationship with Harlan began with a long Zoom call among Harlan, Stacy and Amina Hussein, the head of U.S. sports on-air talent and development at Prime Video. The company targeted Harlan and Ian Eagle because they knew the broadcasters would give them a \u201cfoundational element\u201d for Prime Video\u2019s NBA coverage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have a one-size-fits-all mentality when it comes to people working on other networks,\u201d Stacy said. \u201cWe wanted Kevin Harlan to be on our air talking to NBA fans. One thing that\u2019s helpful is that he\u2019s free and clear, and his focus is the NBA toward the end of the season and into the postseason. We try to work with Kevin on what\u2019s best for him because we want him in the best shape, and we don\u2019t want anybody to get overworked.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018A good man\u2019<\/p>\n
Harlan, 65, is traveling less these days than he did earlier in his career. He has four kids and seven grandchildren, and he and Annie decided he should pare down his schedule early in the NBA season so he could be home more.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we are at the point of the NBA schedule where I\u2019m ready to crank it up,\u201d Harlan said. \u201cIt has been a gift to continue with the NBA and to be part of this new company\u2019s enthusiasm and vigor for the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Every executive Sports Business Journal spoke with offered unprompted praise of Harlan as a thoughtful person who is family-first. Said Hussein: \u201cTwo things that always stand out about Kevin \u2014 what a good man he is, and the voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harlan said his biggest challenge over his 40 years of broadcasting isn\u2019t performance or travel. It\u2019s the residual guilt that builds having to leave home so often.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was young and doing this, the family had all sorts of things going on, just chaos; everybody was going 18 different directions, including me,\u201d Harlan said. \u201cSomehow, we were always able to connect the dots. As I\u2019ve gotten older and read more about men that have had a degree of success in their lives, the thing they talk about most is the casualty of not being around their family. Our kids always said they can\u2019t remember me traveling because I was at their events.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenge for me has not been preparation, the performance of the broadcast or navigating between radio or TV. It has been dealing with the guilt of that emotional departure from home. Some guys love the road and can\u2019t wait to leave. But that\u2019s not me. I can\u2019t wait to get back after the game has concluded.\u201d<\/p>\n
FREQUENT FLYER<\/p>\n
Over his five decades of calling games in the NFL, NBA and college basketball, Kevin Harlan has accrued some eye-popping numbers when it comes to frequent flyer programs.<\/p>\n
Annual travel: 150,000 milesAmerican Airlines (lifetime): 2.6 million milesDelta Air Lines (lifetime): 4 million milesUnited Airlines (lifetime): 2.4 million miles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you ever have a chance to visit Kevin Harlan at his century-old home in Mission Hills, Kansas,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549137,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[971,49,48,4846,547,459,514,14803,39932,82,26061],"class_list":["post-549136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-amazon","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cbs-sports","tag-college-basketball","tag-nba","tag-nfl","tag-portfolio","tag-print","tag-sports","tag-tnt-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549136"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549136\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/549137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}