Maria Taylor Hosts Super Bowl After IVF Journey to Motherhood

Maria Taylor had contractions at her Football Night in America desk and pumped milk on a Paris Olympics boat minutes before interviewing LeBron James. For the groundbreaking sportscaster, motherhood didn't slow her career down—it made her unstoppable.

This year alone, Taylor hosted the Super Bowl LX pregame show, traveled to Milan for late-night Olympics coverage, and released her first docuseries as executive producer. But her most rewarding accomplishment is her 2-year-old son, Roman, who arrived after a winding fertility journey.

"That switched something in me where I felt like I don't have to apologize for anything," Taylor says. "I deserve to be in the rooms."

Her path to motherhood included three fibroid surgeries and IVF treatments that ran parallel to major career milestones. Her first embryo transfer failed the day before the 2022 NFL Hall of Fame Game. She adjusted her IVF protocols while becoming the first full-time female host of Football Night in America, visiting doctors in the morning and hosting shows in the afternoon.

The experience taught her grace. "It made me take a little bit of pressure off myself," she says.

Why This Inspires

Taylor's commitment to telling untold stories drives her work. Earlier this year, she became the first Black woman to present the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the Super Bowl, a milestone she refuses to downplay.

Her docuseries Field Generals: History of the Black Quarterback let her show James "Shack" Harris, the first Black quarterback to play in the Pro Bowl, a video of people thanking him for his impact. "He deserves to know that he paved the way and that what he did was important," she says.

She's equally passionate about women's sports visibility. "The product is good because the women are great—you just haven't seen them," Taylor explains.

A dual-sport athlete at the University of Georgia, Taylor grew up in a family of basketball players and saw Team USA's women win gold in her hometown of Atlanta in 1996. After college, she chose broadcasting over playing volleyball overseas, throwing herself into work to navigate the identity shift from athlete to storyteller.

Now she balances motherhood and career with daily rituals: morning workouts to feel grounded, handwritten planning for her day, and trusting that things happen as they're supposed to. Roman often accompanies her to major events, witnessing his mom make history.

For Taylor, changing the game means writing her own rules and creating visibility for others who come after her.