The Kansas City Chiefs longtime public address announcer abruptly quit after 16 years following a disagreement with the team.
Dale Carter, who had been one of the Chiefs’ PA announcers responsible for helping guide game day over the booming speakers inside Arrowhead Stadium since 2009, explained the fallout with the franchise was centered around his iconic “It’s. Third. Down.” call, which had become synonymous with the football experience in Kansas City.
“Last season, as we were heading into the playoffs, the people I work for (65 TPT Productions) told me they were hearing from ‘a high level’ that someone had heard another PA guy at another stadium really amp it up on 3rd down and they wanted me to experiment with different calls,” Carter wrote via Facebook on Friday, September 12. “Some of you caught on to that and mentioned that you noticed. I didn’t agree with what they wanted me to do but I’ve always been a team player and tried to do whatever they wanted me to try. Until this week.”
Carter said he received a call on Tuesday, September 9, informing him that “they wanted the other PA guy (the one who does pre-game activities and reads the commercials in game) to start doing the 3rd down call to shake things up.”
“That was my red line,” Carter wrote. “I wish them the best of luck.”
Ultimately, Carter said he “never did it for the money” and explained how stepping away from the public address announcing job will give him more time to “to focus on my family, radio, [my] podcast and my 2026 run for Jackson County Legislature.”
“I was blessed to be the Chiefs PA announcer for 16 seasons plus 1 preseason game,” he concluded his post. “I never missed a game during that time (even going to London for a whirlwind 48 hours). I worked every major Fall/Winter holiday. I feel like I gave everything I had. It’s just time to close that chapter. Hopefully this answers all of the questions and we can all have a great weekend!”
Carter was not behind the microphone for the Chiefs’ home opener on Sunday, September 14, a Super Bowl LIX rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles.
“What a strange day this will be for me,” Carter shared via Facebook before kickoff. “For the first time since the end of the 2008 season, I won’t be rooting on my favorite team from the PA booth at Arrowhead. It was my call, kind of… but it is strange for me nonetheless.”
He added, “My advice to all of you on this Sunday morning is to take stock of your life. This life is temporary. At the end of it, what I do on the radio, on my podcast or in government won’t matter. That I was a husband, father, grandfather, brother, son and friend will matter.”