Amanda Balionis is back on the road as the NFL regular season enters its final week. The CBS Sports reporter shared a brief update on Instagram, hinting at the busy stretch ahead with Week 18 set to get underway.
On Saturday, January 3, Balionis posted the story early morning on a flight. Dressed in black, she wore a baseball cap and held a cup of coffee as she captioned the post:
“Week 18 loading…”
The final week of the regular season will be crucial for several teams. Matchups such as Carolina vs. Tampa Bay and Baltimore vs. Pittsburgh carry win-or-go-home stakes while teams like the Broncos, Jaguars, and Patriots remain in the hunt for the AFC’s top seed. In the NFC, the Seahawks and 49ers are also fighting for a playoff position.₹
Along with her NFL duties, Balionis has been a regular part of CBS Sports’ golf coverage in 2025. She appeared at several major events, including The Masters, the PGA Championship, the Memorial Tournament, and the TOUR Championship.
Amanda Balionis reflects on relentless 2025 schedule
As she stepped into 2026, Amanda Balionis reflected on the demanding year she had just come through. In December 2025, the CBS Sports reporter shared how constant travel defined her season and why she felt the need to slow down before the year’s end.
Balionis shared her thoughts in an Instagram reel filmed on a beach where she was seen holding a cup of coffee while addressing her packed schedule. In the caption, she explained that she had planned to post a year-end recap but struggled to do so, realizing she needed rest instead.
“I had these big plans for an end-of-year recap and every time I went to go do it my brain was screaming, ‘I DON’T WANT TO’. I calculated my 2025 travel for the last 11-ish months and realized that it’s okay to be ready to do less for a little bit,” Balionis wrote.
Throughout 2025, Balionis traveled more than 104,000 miles, spent over 219 hours flying, and visited 42 cities across seven countries on three continents. She was on the road for 19 straight weeks covering golf before switching to NFL coverage later in the year.
Balionis also admitted that stepping away from work was not easy, noting that she often felt rest needed to be earned.
“I fear I may have to work on this habit of believing that ‘rest is earned,’… So for the remainder of this year, I’ll be busy doing less and working on undoing some of that self-talk that keeps me busy when I don’t need to be,” she added.
Despite the workload, Amanda Balionis still found time to travel for herself. One of her final trips of 2025 was a visit to Turkey, where she traveled with her mother, Dana.
