Michael Silver is an American sportswriter and television analyst who currently works for The Athletic . He previously worked for Sports Illustrated , Yahoo Sports, NFL Network, and the San Francisco Chronicle .
Silver was born in San Francisco in 1966 and raised in Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. [1]
Silver began his career as a sports writer and columnist for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat , where he covered the San Francisco 49ers and Golden State Warriors from 1990 to 1994. [2] He also covered the 49ers for the Sacramento Union and served as a correspondent for Pro Football Weekly and The Sporting News .
Silver began work at Sports Illustrated in November 1994, eventually becoming a senior writer there. He was one of the magazine's lead football writers, having authored game stories for Super Bowl XXIX through XLI and personal profiles of famous sports characters. He has also written articles for GQ and Rolling Stone .
Silver started working for Yahoo Sports at the beginning of the 2007 NFL season and was hired by NFL Network in 2013. He left NFL Network in 2021 and began working for Bally Sports in October of that year. [3] In 2022, he joined the San Francisco Chronicle to cover the 49ers and the NFL. [4] In 2024, Silver joined The Athletic as an NFL Senior Writer. [5]
Silver, who lists pro football, pro basketball, tennis and college softball as his favorite sports to cover, has received numerous writing awards from several organizations, including the Pro Football Writers of America, the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Pro Basketball Writers of America.
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The team plays its home games at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, located 38 miles (61 km) southeast of San Francisco. The team is named after the prospectors of the California gold rush.
Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Comeback Kid", Montana is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. After winning a national championship with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Montana began his NFL career in 1979 at San Francisco, where he played for the next 14 seasons. With the 49ers, Montana started and won four Super Bowls and was the first player to be named the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. He also holds Super Bowl career records for most passes without an interception and the all-time highest passer rating of 127.8. In 1993, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, where he played for his last two seasons and led the franchise to its first AFC Championship Game. Montana was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Jerry Lee Rice is an American former professional football wide receiver who played for 20 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He won three Super Bowl titles with the San Francisco 49ers before two shorter stints at the end of his career with the Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks. For his accomplishments and numerous records, Rice is widely regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in NFL history. His biography on the official Pro Football Hall of Fame website names him "the most prolific wide receiver in NFL history with staggering career totals". In 1999, The Sporting News listed Rice second behind Jim Brown on its list of "Football's 100 Greatest Players". In 2010, he was chosen by NFL Network's NFL Films production The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players as the greatest player in NFL history.
Terrell Eldorado Owens, also known by his initials "T.O.", is an American former professional football wide receiver who played 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Regarded as one of the greatest wide receivers of all time, Owens ranks third in NFL history in career receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Stephen Ray Mariucci, nicknamed "Mooch", is an American sportscaster and former football coach who was the head coach of two National Football League (NFL) teams, the San Francisco 49ers (1997–2002) and the Detroit Lions (2003–2005), and for a year at the University of California, Berkeley.
Dwight Edward Clark was an American professional football wide receiver who played for nine seasons with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1979 to 1987. He was a member of San Francisco's first two Super Bowl championship teams.
James Earl Johnson was an American professional football cornerback who played for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1961 to 1976. He was named to the first-team on the NFL 1970s All-Decade Team, and in 1994, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Fletcher Joseph Perry was an American professional football fullback who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and National Football League (NFL). He played for the San Francisco 49ers from 1948 to 1960, the Baltimore Colts from 1961 to 1962, and returned to the 49ers in 1963 for his final year in football. He was exceptionally fast, a trait uncommon for a fullback and one which earned him the nickname, "the Jet". The first African-American to be named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP), he became one of American football's first black stars.
Kyle Michael Shanahan is an American professional football coach who is the head coach of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He came to prominence as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, whose offense in 2016 led the league in points scored and helped the team reach Super Bowl LI. Shanahan became the head coach of the 49ers the following season, leading the team to three division titles, four postseason appearances, four NFC Championship Game appearances, and two Super Bowl appearances.
Charles Andrew Krueger was an American professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), all with the San Francisco 49ers. He played college football at Texas A&M, where he was a two-time All-American. He is a member of several halls of fame, including the Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame, San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame, National Football Foundation Hall of Fame, and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Kevin Patrick Gogan is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, and San Diego Chargers. He played college football for the Washington Huskies and was selected in the eighth round by the Dallas Cowboys in the 1987 NFL draft. With the Cowboys, Gogan won Super Bowl XXVII and Super Bowl XXVIII, both over the Buffalo Bills.
Bruce Lawrence Taylor is an American former professional football player who was spent his entire eight-year career as a cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1970 to 1977. He played college football for the Boston University Terriers and was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the 1970 NFL draft. With San Francisco, Taylor played in the NFC Championship Game in 1971 and 1972. He was also named to the Pro Bowl in 1972. During his football career, Taylor received several rookie of the year awards including ones from Pro Football Weekly and the Associated Press.
Michael Alex Crabtree Jr. is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, twice earning unanimous All-American honors. He was selected 10th overall by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2009 NFL draft. Crabtree was a member of the 49ers for six seasons and spent the remainder of his career with the Oakland Raiders, Baltimore Ravens, and Arizona Cardinals.
John Edward "Jed" York is an American businessman who is the CEO of the San Francisco 49ers NFL franchise. York is the son of Denise DeBartolo York and John York, nephew of former 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr. and a board member at Leeds United.
Michael Iupati is a Samoan-American former professional football player who was a guard for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). A native of American Samoa, Iupati went to high school in southern California, played college football for the Idaho Vandals, and earned consensus All-American honors. Iupati was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 2010 NFL draft. He played five seasons with the 49ers, four with the Arizona Cardinals, and two with the Seattle Seahawks.
Christopher Randall Borland is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers, and was selected by the 49ers in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft. He was one of the first NFL players to retire early in his career due to potential concerns of mid-term brain damage from football.
Christian Jackson McCaffrey, known by the initials CMC, is an American professional football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal and was selected by the Carolina Panthers eighth overall in the 2017 NFL draft. As a sophomore in 2015, McCaffrey was named AP College Football Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. He holds the NCAA record for most all-purpose yards in a season (3,864).
Ross Dwelley is an American professional football tight end for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at San Diego and signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2018.
Brandon Aiyuk is an American professional football wide receiver for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Sierra College and Arizona State and was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the 2020 NFL draft.
David Lombardi, is an American sports journalist and commentator. He covers the National Football League's San Francisco 49ers for The San Francisco Standard. Before joining The Standard he worked at ESPN and The Athletic.
Cohn, 49, replaces Michael Silver, who went to Sports Illustrated in November.