On Sunday night, “Saturday Night Live” is celebrating its 50th anniversary with an alum-filled special — Peyton Manning in attendance and all. The show has featured a number of sports tie-ins since it debuted in 1975, with such greats as Bill Russell, Deion Sanders, Derek Jeter and Tom Brady hosting.
The first athlete to host the show was then-Minnesota Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton, who was the guest star on the 13th episode of the second season. He was joined by English singer-songwriter Leo Sayer as the musical guest.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has hosted the show five times, more than any other athlete. His first turn came in 2000 with musical guest AC/DC.
25 years ago, @TheRock made history by becoming the first @WWE Superstar to host SNL… and @PaulWight, Mick Foley, and I brought attitude to the monologue!
Congrats to all the cast, crew, and executives of @nbcsnl who have created a global entertainment franchise for 50 years. pic.twitter.com/AsF8ELhWit
— Triple H (@TripleH) February 16, 2025
Ahead of SNL’s 50th anniversary special, we look at some notable sketches from sports figures who have appeared on the show.
John Madden | Sept. 7, 1982
Long before the Madden Cruiser ferried the famously aerophobic Madden between games, he traveled by train. Look for how many times the late, great broadcaster tries to tell the story about leaving a player behind after a game.
Marvin Hagler | May 17, 1986
Just two months after defending his middleweight title with a win over John Mugabi, Hagler co-hosted the show with journalist Jimmy Breslin. In this sketch, Hagler, who won 52 fights by knockout in his career, gives viewers advice on how to get knocked out.
Wayne Gretzky | May 13, 1989
The hockey legend hosted the show fresh off his first season with the Los Angeles Kings, following “The Trade” the offseason prior. Among other skits, Gretzky played himself as the guest host of a call-in show — fielding a number of questions that had no relation to hockey.
Chris Evert | Nov. 11, 1989
The 18-time Grand Slam winner was the first female athlete to host the show. She was joined by musical guest the Eurythmics. This is Evert’s historic monologue:
Michael Jordan | Sept. 28, 1991
Just months after winning his first NBA title, Jordan hosted the premier episode of SNL’s 17th season. The GOAT gave an all-time showing in “Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley.” Jordan, who was on the show with Public Enemy, has yet to host again.
Charles Barkley | Sept. 25, 1993
After winning NBA MVP and reaching the NBA Finals, Barkley hosted the Season 19 premier. Barkley has hosted three other times since then. He did his own “Daily Affirmation” in his first episode. However, one of the best moments was unintended and came from a promo shoot with Nirvana, that episode’s musical guest.
Nirvana and Charles Barkley’s SNL promo rehearsal, 1993 pic.twitter.com/IPIkWmM2oj
— Pigeons & Planes (@PigsAndPlans) January 29, 2021
Deion Sanders | Feb. 18, 1995
Just weeks after winning his first Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers, Prime Time took over Studio 8H. He had one notable NSFW sketch that showed a little too much of Chris Farley and, in a peak-1990s moment, Sanders joined Tim Meadows and Adam Sandler as a rap trio short on bars.
“Peace, we outta here.”
Derek Jeter | Dec. 1, 2001
The New York Yankees captain went from the Bronx to midtown Manhattan for his performance with musical guests Bubba Sparxxx and Shakira. On “Weekend Update,” Jeter debated noted Boston Red Sox fan Seth Meyers.
Tom Brady | April 16, 2005
Four Super Bowl wins, three NFL MVPs and two retirements ago, Brady, then just a three-time champion, took on hosting duties. He came near a funnel cake in this sketch with Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch and Rob Riggle. Those cakes probably aren’t allowed in the TB12 diet, but that didn’t exist in 2005.
Peyton Manning | March 24, 2007
Manning hosted on his birthday, and his parents and brothers were in attendance. Manning, who had just won his first Super Bowl with the Indianapolis Colts in February of 2007, turned in an all-time great performance, highlighted by his spoof of NFL United Way commercials.
Manning has yet to host the show again, but he did return in Jan. of 2022 for a passionate breakdown of the Netflix series “Emily in Paris” on Weekend Update.
Ronda Rousey | Jan. 23, 2016
Rousey hosted just two months after losing her bantamweight title to Holly Holm in UFC 193. Rousey became the first female combat athlete to host the show and just the third female athlete ever to take on hosting duties.
Travis Kelce | March 4, 2023
From the rousing success of his and brother Jason’s New Heights podcast to hosting SNL, the star Kansas City Chiefs tight end has displayed quite a penchant for media off the gridiron. He’d also make a guest appearance later in 2023 in a skit referencing his highly publicized relationship with Taylor Swift.
