Maria Taylor Biography
Maria Taylor is an American sportscaster working for NBC Sports as an evening sportscaster. She joined the NBC Sports news team in 2020, after previously working for ESPN.
Maria Taylor Career
Taylor played basketball for four years, winning numerous awards, while attending Centennial High School in Roswell, Georgia. Among the honors were membership in the Atlanta Tip-Off Team of the Year, Fulton County Scholar-Athlete of the Year, three years as the offensive MVP of her high school volleyball team, selection to the All-Region team three times, and senior All-State recognition. Taylor was also chosen to play for the USA Volleyball Junior National A2 team in 2004.
She attended the University of Georgia on an athletic scholarship, where she played basketball and volleyball until 2009. Taylor was selected to the All-SEC volleyball team each season while attending Georgia. She also kept up her play for the US Volleyball Junior National A2 team, which she assisted in winning a bronze in the US Volleyball Championships’ Open Division. When her playing days ended in the fall of 2008, Taylor had 1,729 career kills, fourth all-time in program history, and 2,020 total points, fourth all-time. In addition, Taylor spent three years as a host and reporter for IMG College at the University of Georgia prior to 2012. Her television appearances included Dawg Report, SEC Men’s Basketball Tonight, and SportsNite.
On July 20, 2021, Taylor departed from the network. Her resignation followed the leak of a July 2020 conference call transcript involving Rachel Nichols and Adam Mendelsohn, the advisor to LeBron James, which implied that Taylor’s selection as the NBA Finals host was motivated by her race. After two days, on July 23, 2021, Taylor signed on with NBC Sports, and, she made her network premiere while covering the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Taylor became a panelist on NBC’s Sunday Night Football pregame program Football Night in America during the 2021 NFL season. She was announced as the program’s lead host in May 2022, taking Mike Tirico’s place as he moved to the lead play-by-play position for Sunday Night Football. When the 2022 French Open was covered by NBC, Taylor hosted the men’s and women’s finals and semifinals.
Before she joined NBC Sports Taylor covered the Orange Bowl for the second consecutive year, and she also worked as a sideline reporter for ESPN2’s weekly Saturday-night primetime college football telecast. She also served as an analyst for ESPN’s coverage of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and the Women’s Volleyball National Championship in addition to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Preview Show and the NCAA Women’s Basketball Selection Show.
In 2014, Taylor became a member of the SEC Network. Along with commentators Brent Musburger and Jesse Palmer, she covered college football for SEC Network. She also served as an analyst for other SEC telecasts, such as those featuring women’s basketball and volleyball. She also covered sideline coverage of the University of Iowa and Stanford University in the 2016 Rose Bowl.
When Samantha Ponder left to host Sunday NFL Countdown, Maria joined the College GameDay broadcast team in 2017 as a reporter and host. Prior to that, Maria worked as an ESPN host and reporter for the College Football Playoffs, which featured the University of Georgia and the University of Oklahoma.
She later covered and hosted the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship game between the University of Georgia and Alabama. With Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler calling the game from the booth, Taylor served as the sideline reporter for ABC’s Saturday Night Football.
Maria Taylor Salary
Taylor earns a salary of about $47,000-$120,000.
Maria Taylor Net Worth
Taylor has an estimated net worth of about $1 Million – $7 Million which she has earned through her career as a sportscaster.
Maria Taylor Age
Taylor was born on May 12, 1987, in Alpharetta, Georgia, United States. She is 37 years old as of 2024 and she celebrates her birthday on the 12th of May every year.
Maria Taylor Height and Weight
Taylor stands at a height of 6 feet 2 inches and weighs 66 Kg.
Maria Taylor Family
Taylor is the daughter of Suzette Taylor and Steve Taylor, who belonged to the Cherokee Nation. She also has two siblings, Vann Taylor and Steve Taylor Jr., a former football player and currently works as a high school football coach in Georgia. Vann and Steve are Maria’s half-siblings from her father’s side, and Maria is the sole child of her parents.
Maria Taylor Husband and Children
Taylor is currently married to Jon Lee. The couple tied the knot in 2021. Before Jon, Taylor was in a two-year marital relationship with Rodney Blackstock, from 2019 to 2021, when the duo divorced. Rodney and Taylor met in 2014 at a basketball game and it was love at first sight. Rodney proposed to her a year later, and wedding plans were set for June 2016. However, the couple upon realizing that they were rushing into marriage, they called it quits.
Three years later in 2019, Rodney and Taylor officially reunited and exchanged vows at a beach in Destin, Florida, but in 2021, the pair separated citing unknown reasons. It was in February the same year that Taylor got hitched to Jon Lee, whom she disclosed via a TikTok post that they had known each other since they were in high school.
Maria Taylor Pregnant
Taylor revealed to her followers in July 2023 that she and Jon were expecting. She revealed her infertility issues and how they had to go through a lot to conceive for three years in a row, even though she is thrilled to be welcoming their first child. And to the delight of her fans, Taylor is now happily sharing details of her pregnancy on social media, in contrast to the past when she was reticent about her personal life. When her baby boy reached the size of an American football in September 2023, she made a hint that she hoped her child would play sports in the future.
Maria Taylor Social Media Platform
Taylor is very active on her Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages. She has 293.7k followers on Twitter 336k followers on Instagram, and 109k followers on Facebook.