Longtime sportscaster, former 49er Del Rodgers to retire after 28 years on KCRA

Del Rodgers has announced that he will retire as KCRA sports director after 28 years with the Sacramento-area television station.

“This will be my final high school football season,” Rodgers said Friday during his weekly “High School Playbook” broadcast in a video posted by KCRA on Facebook.

His final day at the station will be Dec. 1, Rodgers said.

“Thank you for watching the High School Playbook with some consistency,” Rodgers said.

Former college and NFL player

A graduate of the University of Utah, Rodgers played football for the college as a running back and kickoff returner. He was the “first 1,000-yard rusher in Utes history,” his KCRA biography said.

He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the third round of the 1982 NFL draft and played for the team from 1982 to 1985. In 1984, he made a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against the Chicago Bears, KCRA said.

After a year away from the NFL, Rodgers played for two years for the San Francisco 49ers, where he won a Super Bowl ring as part of the 1989 team.

Television sports career

Rodgers worked for stations in Monterey, Salinas, Seattle and Atlanta before coming to KCRA in 1997, the station said. He is now the station’s sports director and anchors sportscasts Monday through Friday.

In his time at the station, he strongly promoted covering high school sports “in a big way,” calling it “a vital part of our community.”

“It’s more than just the teams and covering the games,” Rodgers said. “It’s the fans in the stands, the volunteer moms and dads cooking barbecue in the concession stands, the bands, cheerleaders and school spirit.”

Fans react

In its Facebook post, KCRA called Rodgers “a legend.”

“Met him my junior year in high school before my football game,” wrote Ishmael Harris in a comment on the post. “A memory that will forever live with me, he let me try on that Super Bowl ring.”

“Congratulations on a great football and broadcasting career,” read a post by Randy Brundage.

“One of the nicest journalists in the business,” wrote Michael Huiras. “When I was in college, many (journalism) students enjoyed being an intern in his department because he was so inviting and helpful to upcoming journalists.”

This story was originally published November 23, 2025 at 1:02 PM.