As part of his quasi-retirement announcement, Costas said he would to do one last Super Bowl, in part to give an assist to Tirico, who would already be in Pyeongchang prepping for the upcoming Olympics. But come game time on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, Costas was not in the anchor chair for NBC.

Of course, the rumor mill immediately lurched into motion, pointing directly at Costas' rhetoric against not only the game of football, but the NFL's handling of the chronic brain injury crisis.

Costas dismissed the scuttlebutt, telling The Associated Press (via USA Today), "Dan [Patrick] and Liam [McHugh] have done the job hosting NBC's NFL coverage all season. It wouldn't be right for me to parachute in and do the Super Bowl."

But just one day later, Costas changed his tune considerably, telling Sports Business Daily that he has "long had ambivalent feelings about football, so at this point, it's better to leave the hosting to those who are more enthusiastic about it."

When later "pressed" by the New York Post about his big game absence, Costas finally confessed that his attitude about it was, "If you need me to do it and you have something you want me to do, I'll do it. If you don't need me to do it, no problem." He then reiterated how "gracious," "appreciative," and "respectful" both he and NBC are toward one other, but at this point, the media seems dead-set on portraying their interactions like a quiet couple fight happening behind a closed bedroom door at a dinner party.