Maria Taylor will handle the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation after Super Bowl LX on Sunday, marking the first time she\u2019s had that responsibility in her career.<\/p>\n
Taylor appeared on SI Media with Jimmy Traina<\/a> this week and talked about what goes into managing one of the highest-pressure moments in sports television. It\u2019s harder than hosting the pregame show, she said, because the pregame is planned out. The trophy presentation is controlled chaos.<\/p>\n \u201cUsually you\u2019re managing emotions that are happening at the end of a game like the Super Bowl,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cYou\u2019re rallying everyone together and also trying to make sure that you\u2019re getting to \u2014 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\u2019re constantly thinking about when you\u2019re doing a trophy ceremony.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor has done a few trophy presentations in her career, so she knows the drill. But Super Bowl LX<\/a> will be different. Bigger stage. More eyes. More pressure. And one other challenge she joked about with Traina.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t let them take the mic,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThat is the key. You just have to have a strong wrist. They could not take the mic from you, right?\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor will host the five-hour Super Bowl LX pregame show starting at 1 p.m. on NBC and Peacock before handling the trophy presentation after the game. Mike Tirico handled the Lombardi Trophy presentation for NBC\u2019s last Super Bowl broadcast<\/a> in 2022 when the Rams beat the Bengals. Now it\u2019s Taylor\u2019s turn.<\/p>\n \u201cI will say it\u2019s a tremendous privilege to be the person that is presenting the Lombardi Trophy,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cYou 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\u2019s special.\u201d<\/p>\n The assignment caps a remarkable rise for Taylor at NBC. She joined the network in July 2021 after leaving ESPN amid the fallout<\/a> from Rachel Nichols\u2019s leaked comments<\/a> about her. Taylor went straight from the NBA Finals<\/a> to covering the Tokyo Olympics<\/a>, and she later admitted she cried every day in Tokyo<\/a> while processing the emotional toll<\/a> of leaving ESPN.<\/p>\n But NBC gave Taylor opportunities that ESPN couldn\u2019t or wouldn\u2019t. She started on Football Night in America as a co-host in 2021, then took over as the lead host in 2022<\/a> when Tirico moved to the Sunday Night Football booth. She\u2019s hosted Olympics coverage, Big Ten football, Notre Dame games, and now the NBA<\/a> after NBC secured rights to the league.<\/p>\n