Bob Costas discusses his breakup with NBC after 40-year relationship, hints at reunion

Bob Costas detailed his breakup with NBC after 40 years in a wide-ranging interview with Graham Bensinger and hinted at a potential reunion with the network. 

"There was no announcement. I didn't need a parade, but it would've been nice if I could've ended on a grace note … I would've been fine if they just had me do some sort of programming and then at the end, for two minutes, say goodbye. The only thing I wish about leaving NBC is that it ended on a more gracious note and maybe we'll circle back and make that right at some point," Costas said on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger. "Make it completely right."

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Costas admitted it created tension with executives when "there would be elephants in the room" concerning Olympic host countries such as China and Russia, where there were concerns about human rights. 

He says he regretted doing an interview with ESPN's Mark Fainaru-Wada, in which he said "everyone walks on eggshells about the NFL." Costas said everything in the interview was true, and never brought up his NBC bosses during the interview.

Costas had made comments about football and concussion three months before Super Bowl 52, when he said, "This game destroys people's brains." Within a week, he was told he would be pulled off the telecast.

"I didn't care (about hosting Super Bowl). I cared more about where I would go for dinner that night," Costas said. "But naturally that's the way idiots framed it. I didn't give a (expletive) damn."

Costas also said he turned down a $20 million per year deal in 2007 as Don Imus’ replacement on syndicated radio and MSNBC after Imus was fired for racial remarks about the Rutgers women's basketball team. 

"First of all, the 2008 Olympics were pending – I owed that to Dick Ebersol and the people at NBC. Plus, I didn't want to get up at 4:30, 5 o'clock in the morning, five days a week," he said. "By Thursday of the first week, I would have regretted it."

Costas has since gone to CNN for a commentating job and returned to his HBO show called "Back On the Record with Bob Costas."