Bob Costas is fine and still active in sports media; nothing catastrophic “happened” to him, but his career has shifted into a lighter, emeritus-style role and he has recently returned to NBC Sports in that capacity.

Quick Scoop: What Happened To Bob Costas?

Bob Costas hasn’t disappeared so much as he has downshifted and then returned in a more selective way.

1. Where he is now (2025–2026)

  • In January 2026, NBC Sports announced that Bob Costas is returning to the network after his earlier split in 2019.
  • He will host a new “Sunday Night Baseball” pregame show on NBC and Peacock, starting with a primetime Opening Night matchup at Dodger Stadium between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks in March 2026.
  • He describes his new NBC role as an “emeritus” or contributor position, not the primary play‑by‑play or main host role, focusing on essays, interviews, and commentary rather than calling full games.

2. Why people thought he “went away”

  • Costas “quietly” left NBC in 2019 after nearly 40 years, following growing tension over his public criticism of the NFL, particularly around concussions and player safety.
  • He has said that he and NBC “got sideways” over his commentary on the NFL and the IOC, and that his exit from NBC did not get the gracious on‑air farewell he would have preferred.
  • After stepping back from NBC, he continued working at MLB Network and on other projects, but was much less visible to casual viewers who mainly associated him with big NBC events like the Olympics and the Super Bowl.

3. His current role and health

  • Costas has explicitly framed this phase of his career as semi-retirement: he believes he can still do interviews, essays, and commentary “pretty much as well” as ever, but no longer wants or feels able to grind out regular top-level play‑by‑play.
  • There are no major public reports of a new health crisis; past on-air issues (like eye infections during the 2014 Sochi Olympics) were temporary and not career‑ending.
  • Looking ahead, he has even floated the possibility of a limited role around the 2028 Olympics, such as interviewing legendary former Olympians, rather than anchoring full event coverage.

4. The NBC “full circle” storyline

  • Costas has called NBC his “true broadcasting home” and said that returning now in an emeritus role feels like a way to bring his long career full circle.
  • NBC Sports executives have publicly praised him as one of the most authoritative and passionate voices in baseball, and framed his return as “coming home.”
  • Costas himself has suggested that this NBC encore will likely be the last chapter of his career, lasting a few more years but not indefinitely.

5. Forum / trending angle: Why this is a topic now

People asking “what happened to Bob Costas” are usually reacting to three things:

  1.  * He vanished from big NBC events (Olympics, Super Bowls) after 2018–2019.

 * Then he resurfaced more quietly on MLB Network and long-form interview shows, which many casual viewers don’t watch as often.

  1.  * Old clips of his criticism of the NFL and concussion issues periodically go viral, reviving the narrative that he was “pushed out” or sidelined.

  1.  * His 2026 return to NBC for Sunday Night Baseball has brought his name back into headlines and social media threads, prompting people to ask where he’d been and what changed.

In short: Bob Costas wasn’t canceled or disappeared; he semi‑retired after a tense split with NBC over his outspoken views, kept working mainly in baseball, and is now back at NBC in a tailored emeritus role to help close out his legendary career.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.