The San Francisco 49ers and KNBR announced Wednesday a multi-year extension, keeping intact a radio flagship partnership that dates to 2005 and the broadcast team — Greg Papa and Tim Ryan — that has defined it.
“We at KNBR are tremendously excited to continue this valued partnership with the Niners,” said Larry Blumhagen, regional vice president/market manager, Cumulus San Francisco/Los Angeles, in a statement. “We have a wonderful relationship with the organization and its people, and they are truly a partner to us in connecting their fans with all the gameday action they love and demand. We look forward to continuing to provide 49ers fans with outstanding gameday coverage on all KNBR platforms from AM/FM to streaming.”
“As our flagship station for more than 20 years, KNBR is woven into the fabric of the 49ers organization and what it means to be Faithful,” added 49ers COO Brent Schoeb. “KNBR has been there for every 49ers moment since 2005, from spectacular individual plays and broken records to playoff wins and our move to Levi’s® Stadium. We are thrilled to extend our long-term partnership and look forward to more legendary calls from Greg and Tim on gamedays.”
Papa was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia last July, spent 23 days hospitalized at UCSF, and stepped away from the booth and his KNBR midday show to begin treatment. The 49ers put together a five-man rotating crew to get through the season — Guy Haberman, Justin Allegri, Troy Clardy, Carlos Ramirez, and Jack Smith — with Haberman handling the bulk of the work alongside Ryan, who has been Papa’s color analyst since 2012 and was the one constant in the booth last season while the fill-in crew rotated around him.
Papa returned to his radio show remotely in September while still on chemotherapy, went into remission by December, and made it back to the booth for the regular-season finale against Seattle in January, less than six months after leukemia was found in his brain and spinal column. He had previously postponed a planned return against the Bears a week earlier, deciding he needed more time to rest and build strength before Haberman stepped in for his eighth game of the season.
In late February, Papa entered UCSF for a bone marrow transplant from his younger sister Judy, who was found to be a perfect match — his older brother Ron was also a match — and told the San Francisco Chronicle he was targeting training camp this summer and the team’s Week 1 game in Melbourne as the next milestones on his road back.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.