Tiki Barber to join NBC

? Tiki Barber will work for NBC next year after spending most of the 2006 NFL season entertaining bids from various networks for jobs in both news and sports.

The New York Giants’ Pro Bowl running back will be introduced today at a network news conference, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not directly involved in the contract.

Barber will work on the “Today” show and on the network’s Sunday night football show. It is unlikely he would be in the broadcast booth with the longtime team of Al Michaels and John Madden.

Barber, who had worked in the offseason at Fox, had considered offers from that network and ESPN/ABC for news-sports roles.