Who are the announcers and referees for Chiefs vs. 49ers today?
The Kansas City Chiefs are fresh off their earliest bye week of the Patrick Mahomes era and are hoping to continue their winning ways. Things haven't been going perfectly for the back-to-back defending champions but they're still 5-0 and atop not just their division but the conference as well.
Up next for the reigning Super Bowl champions is a date with the team that they've taken down in two of their three Super Bowl wins, the San Francisco 49ers. The Chiefs defeated the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV in early 2020 to win the team's first championship in 50 years and then edged out the Niners earlier this year to win their third title in a five-year span and fourth championship overall.
The 49ers have not had much luck against Kansas City in the Super Bowl or in the regular season. We've already discussed the Super Bowl losses but the Niners have also lost to KC in the last two regular-season meetings as well. The last time San Francisco recorded a W against Kansas City was in 2014 when Alex Smith was still quarterbacking the Chiefs and Colin Kaepernick was the 49ers starting quarterback. Jim Harbaugh was the head coach of the Niners then as well.
With such a big match-up on tap, one would expect for the big shot announcers to be on the call this week and they would be correct. Chiefs fans will get to listen to an old rival this Sunday afternoon.
Announcers for Chiefs vs. 49ers
- Lead Play-by-Play Announcer: Kevin Burkhardt
- Color Commentator: Tom Brady
- Sideline Reporters: Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi
For the first time in his broadcasting career, Tom Brady will be in the booth for a Chiefs game. For the most part, Brady has been assigned to a lot of Cowboys games early on but he'll get a break from them this week when he and FOX's number one crew will head to Santa Clara for the Super Bowl LIV and LVIII rematch.
Referees for Chiefs vs. 49ers
Head Referee: Alan Eck
Alan Eck is the head referee for Chiefs/49ers. Eck began his career as a side judge in 2016 and was quickly promoted to umpire in 2017, a position he held through 2022. Eck was promoted to referee in 2023 and is entering his second year in the role.
Last year, Eck was the head ref for one Chiefs game and that came in Week 3 in that Chiefs blowout win over the Bears. It was Eck's third-ever game in his new role and Chiefs fans had to have been happy with how that game turned out. He was also in that role for one 49ers game and that was a San Francisco blowout win over Dallas on Sunday Night Football two weeks after KC beat Chicago.
Time & Channel for Chiefs vs. 49ers
- Date: Sunday, October 20
- Time: 3:25 CST
- Channel: FOX
- Location: Levi's Stadium (Santa Clara, CA)