San Francisco 49ers play-by-play radio voice Greg Papa will still be part of the team’s coverage this 2026 NFL season after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia 13 months ago.
Earlier this year, Papa had a successful bone marrow transplant. However, he was later hospitalized in intensive care after suffering from pneumonia and the collapse of both lungs. Amid his ongoing recovery, he’ll be part of the 49ers coverage this campaign.
On the Aug. 25 edition of “49ers Talk,” Papa shared that he still hasn’t been cleared to travel or resume his play-by-play duties. However, he’ll contribute to NBC Sports Bay Area’s coverage of the team this season.
Papa will be part of the 49ers’ “Pregame Live“ and “Postgame Live“ shows on NBC Sports Bay Area if he’s not calling 49ers games. Papa will also make weekly appearances on the “49ers Talk“ podcast.
“We’re going to do the ‘Ask Papa’ again,” Papa said. “I’m going to do a pregame hit for one of the games that I’m actually broadcasting. I think the exciting news is I’m going to go back to my roots a little bit. I hosted quite a few studio shows at NBC Sports Bay Area, Giants and Warriors, hundreds of them, and one year in 2018, when I was between play-by-play gigs, I did host 49ers Pregame Live and Postgame Live.
“So, I’m not going to host it. That’ll be capably handled by our new host, but I’ll be there with [Matt Maiocco]. So we’ll see where it goes. I don’t think I’m going to get clearance to fly to Melbourne, Australia, so I’m probably going to miss the first game. So, I’ll be in the studio.”
Greg Papa Shares Battle With Pneumonia
Furthermore, Papa shared which game he is aiming for to try to be in the booth calling a 49ers game on the radio.
“I’ll be back at NBC Sports Bay Area more than before, and I’m trying to get back into the booth as soon as possible,” Papa added. “If I continue my breathing exercises here, I may be able to make that Miami game on Sept. 20. So, we’ll see.”
The Niners’ voice recalled his battle with pneumonia in the middle of this year and what he had to do to recover.
“I had idiopathic pneumonia,” Papa said. “My right lung did something called torsion, which is not good, like a tornado. It twisted and turned and flipped upside down… And then a few weeks later, my left lung had a pneumothorax, which means there’s a hole in your lung, and that collapsed too. So I had chest tubes on each side.
“I was in the hospital for 11 weeks, almost all of it, about 10 weeks in the ICU. My lungs were damaged. I had to really work hard with these breathing exercises, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, and eating a lot of protein.”
Greg Papa Looks to Get Back Into the Booth for a 49ers Game
While Papa isn’t out of the woods yet with his lungs, he was able to get out of the life-threatening stage and return home. Now, his goal is to get back into the booth for a 49ers game.
“My lungs aren’t completely back, but I think they’re getting close,” Papa noted. “So again, it went from a life-threatening situation. There’s no doubt. You hear a lot of gnarly stuff when you’re in the ICU. It’s inevitable. Your lungs are effectively dying. How long do you want to keep fighting? Things like that.
“So I finally got off the ropes and was able to come home on July 11, and I’m getting better and better. The goal would be to be able to do a football game in a few weeks here on Sept. 20.”
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