NEW YORK – The days when Bob Costas was the face of major sports events on NBC have been waning. Now, they may disappear altogether.

Costas and his representatives are in discussions about terminating a contract that runs through 2021, the New York Post and USA Today reported, with Costas telling USA Today that “what was once a perfect fit no longer fits that description.”

Costas, 66, joined NBC Sports in 1979 and has long been a presence during the Olympics, Super Bowls, World Series and other events. That role changed in recent years with the arrival of Mike Tirico from ESPN and with Costas’ increasing interest in providing opinion on matters of the moment, such as the NFL’s concussion problem and gun violence. NBC hasn’t commented on the reports of a pending departure, but a source close to the situation confirmed the reports.

“There was a very long period of time when NBC’s programming suited my interests and abilities very well, from ‘Later’ (his late-night talk show) to the news magazines to baseball, the NBA and the Olympics,” Costas said. “And after deciding on my own to leave the Olympics after having done a dozen of them, you just look around and say, ‘What was once a perfect fit no longer fits that description.’ ”

Costas worked his 11th Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 but turned over the hosting duties to Tirico starting with the PyeongChang Games in February. Tirico also moved into a “Football Night in America” role preceding “Sunday Night Football” games last season, with Costas stepping into a role similar to the one Tom Brokaw has occupied in NBC’s news coverage when major events, such as the death of Muhammad Ali, occur.

“They’ve been kind enough – and it’s an honor to even have your name in the same sentence – they’ve been kind enough to call it the Brokaw phase of my career,” Costas said in February 2017. “So I will be to sports what Tom has been for the last several years to news.”

Costas, who also does work for the MLB network, still hopes to find a place to do what he does best. USA Today reported that means having the freedom to “pursue a journalism show that includes news-making interviews and commentaries” and may extend beyond sports. That might allow him to speak freely about controversial topics, as he did after the Chiefs’ Jovan Belcher was involved in a murder-suicide in 2012; Costas then delivered a much-discussed prime-time commentary about gun control.

He later regretted it, not because of the content, but because 90 seconds wasn’t enough time for thoughtful commentary.

In 2014, Costas talked about what he claimed is a link between “violent behavior” and head injuries. Last year, he spoke about the possibility of a future without football.

And with NBC continuing to be invested in broadcasting football, it might be time for a change. As Costas told the New York Post: “Sometimes you get to a point where it is not a fit anymore. It doesn’t mean that anyone is angry or upset.”