ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio On What Makes a Great Super Bowl City

SANTA CLARA — Veteran ESPN correspondent Sal Paolantonio is covering his 34th Super Bowl this week, his 32nd for ESPN, as he reports on all things Patriots in the Bay Area.

The sights and sounds are familiar for Paolantonio, who ten years ago worked the same Northern California streets, covering Peyton Manning and the Broncos in the leadup to their 24–10 victory over the Panthers in Super Bowl 50.

“I was here for Super Bowl 50 interviewing people in those tents,” Paolantonio told Front Office Sports Tuesday after New England’s team media availability, pointing out the surroundings. “The Broncos were here. My live shot was on that parking lot roof.”

Paolantonio spoke to FOS about the Bay Area as a host city, how covering teams at the Super Bowl has changed, and why he doesn’t use X. Some quotes have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity. 

FOS: What do you think of the Bay Area as a Super Bowl host city?

Paolantonio: I think this spread-out situation—its hard to wrap your head around the idea that we’re in a Super Bowl City. To me, New Orleans is probably the best location because you could just walk everywhere. You have a whole cornucopia of restaurants you can go to. It was super convenient in that way—you don’t have to get in your car. So, you really can’t beat New Orleans, in terms of convenience. I like Tampa. I wish we would go back to Tampa. Raymond James Stadium is one of my favorite stadiums in the league. And Tampa offers a lot of different things that are interesting. This is pretty spread out, but they have us staying in Santa Clara. So, it’s easy for me, but I could see where most of my colleagues have to get on these buses and schlep back to San Francisco on the 101, which is like basically driving on the Garden State Parkway at 4 o’clock in the afternoon.

FOS: How has covering the Super Bowl changed over the years?

Paolantonio: The number one thing is there used to be a news cycle. That’s disappeared. There’s no news cycle anymore. It’s just the news all the time. It’s like that movie that won all the Oscars, Everything Everywhere All at Once. I think one of the things that we do really well at ESPN is we’re very good at compartmentalizing people’s roles. We have the NFL Live crew; they do the analysis. We have the SportsCenter crew back in Bristol; they’re doing the breaking news. My job is to move the ball five yards down the field on any given day, or pick a subject that will interest the audience so that they come back the next day. That’s basically it. That’s what I try to do on Sunday mornings. My job on Sunday mornings is: Am I getting you to watch for those 20 seconds that I’m on? 

FOS: How much are you and Jeff Darlington comparing notes during this week?

Paolantonio: We compare notes quite a bit less. Monday we did quite a bit of comparing—our live shots were side by side. Jeff and I talk all the time. It’s important that I know what he’s doing, and he knows what I’m doing on a daily basis.

FOS: Does the 24/7 news cycle make it harder to break team news?

Paolantonio: Of course does, because the size of the media group has grown exponentially. So, there’s that, and they’re always on because it’s a click away on your phone. I have the advantage/disadvantage of not being on X [Twitter]. So, when I’m reporting something on TV, and it’s new, that’s where it’s going to be new. 

FOS: You’re not Adam Schefter.

Paolantonio: Well, you know, in order for me to do that the way I do it, I have to have Adam Schefter on my team. Talk about somebody who’s everything all at once all the time. This is a great example of compartmentalizing the roles: I’m on the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, one of the 50 selectors for enshrinement. So, Adam Schefter broke the news that Robert Kraft is not part of the 2026 class, so SportsCenter and NFL Live all want to talk to me about how that might have happened and what that means. We work hand in hand.

FOS: ESPN is already getting ready for its first Super Bowl in 2027. How exciting is that for you?

Paolantonio: I’m going to tell you what Bart Scott once said to me: Can’t wait.