Luke Tasker followed his NFL dad to pro football, then found his voice off the field

When Sarah and Steve Tasker were raising their five children in East Aurora, N.Y., they made sure they encouraged each of them to locate where their skills intersected with their passion. Their son Luke was always going to be a professional football player, just like his father.

It was a second career path that would come as a surprise, though maybe not in retrospect.

“I don’t think he determined to be like Steve,” said Sarah. “He is like Steve, they’re made of the same thing.”

Steve Tasker was a special teams star with the Buffalo Bills, where he made seven appearances in the Pro Bowl. In retirement, he found a voice in broadcasting, notably as a colour commentator.

Luke Tasker spent seven seasons as a receiver in the Canadian Football League, where he was named an East Division all-star four times with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. In retirement, he launched into real estate — but he is also now becoming a voice in sports media.

The 31-year-old is in the middle of his second season working as a colour analyst for the Ticats Audio Network, calling games from the stadium where he once played. Tasker also appears on several other podcasts and broadcasts with the network, which is owned by the team.

Today, when father and son talk football, it is often about how to describe it, rather than how to play it.

“They look quite a bit alike and their voices are similar,” said Sarah. “Their bodies on the football field are similar, and the way they run is similar. We have an ongoing conversation in our family about whether it’s nature versus nurture, and Luke is clearly both of those.”

Luke Tasker was nine days old when he attended his first Super Bowl, in 1991, and he grew up around the game. He played in high school — he also played hockey, as a defenceman — and he graduated to play at Cornell University.

He attended training camp with the San Diego Chargers, but ultimately found a new home on the other side of the border. In 2017, his fifth season with the Ticats, Tasker finished sixth in CFL with 1,167 receiving yards and tied for second with 104 receptions. (He tied for the league lead in touchdown receptions in 2018, with 11.)

Luke Tasker played seven seasons with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, catching 455 passes for 5,734 yards and 35 touchdowns for his career. (John E. Sokolowski / USA Today)

“Luke has always been unique,” said his older brother, Deacon. “I think this is probably how my dad was growing up: He was always able to choose something that he wanted to do, or have as part of his life, and be very singularly focused on it.

“That was absolutely football. It didn’t matter what it was.”

The brothers work together in real estate — The Tasker Team — in Western New York. (Deacon also played hockey in high school and lays claim to being the best hockey player in the family: “You can write that in the story, too.” Their dad, Steve, chuckled: “That’s only because he still plays in a beer league.”)

Luke Tasker majored in communications at Cornell, but dabbled only briefly in media. He spent time with WBBZ-TV, an independent station in Buffalo, but was not smitten with the job. Growing up, he felt like he was a terrible sports fan — he loved the games, but liked playing more than watching.

The Ticats approached him, and he signed on as their in-house analyst last year. He works next to play-by-play voice RJ Broadhead. (The audio team does not follow the team for road games, calling them from the home base back in Hamilton.)

“I think Luke has a real natural tendency to explain what’s happening, or what just happened, to the layperson,” said Dave Cadeau, who is associate vice president, brand content and communications for the Ticats. “He’s able to compartmentalize it and package it verbally for audio-only. And he’s getting more and more concise as we move forward.”

Tasker also spends time preparing for the broadcasts, he said, which is sometimes what helps separate former athletes who succeed on the air versus those who do not.

“I think the ceiling is way up,” said Cadeau. “We’re just getting started with Luke. He could do anything he wants to do in the space — whether that’s national television broadcasts for CFL or something south of the border. I really believe in what he brings.”

Steve Tasker never tried to coach his son on the football field. That is not the same for the press box.

“I’m more of a coach for the broadcasting than I was as a football player,” Steve said. “Broadcasting is a really subjective industry. If 100 people listen to one of the interviews that I do on TV … there will be 10 people who love it, and on the other end of the spectrum 10 people who hate it, and 80 people in the middle who are like, ‘Yeah, OK, whatever.’”

The Bills inducted Steve Tasker into their Wall of Fame in 2007. He has worked as a colour analyst on CBS broadcasts, and now holds a variety of different roles around the team. Today, he co-hosts “One Bills Live,” a two-hour weekday show on MSG Network and WGR Sports Radio 550. He appears on other platforms with the team, while also working as a public speaker and as a spokesperson for West Herr Automotive Group, whose television commercials spill across the border into Canadian homes.

With Luke Tasker working on the air, Ticats games have been spilling back across the border.

“It is gratifying to see him do it, and to do it so well,” said Steve. “I’m totally into it with him.”

“The very first time I heard him — I texted him right after — it was literally like sitting in a living room with a buddy watching a game,” said Sarah. “He was so conversational. He made noises like, ‘Ohh,’ and ‘Aww,’ like you were in the play and could feel it.”

Luke Tasker can remember taking family vacations into Canada when he was growing up. They took camping trips to Algonquin Provincial Park, about three hours north of Toronto. They also made occasional trips into the city. (Luke remembers a stage production of “Beauty and the Beast;” Deacon remembers “Lion King.”)

Broadcasting was the return visit he had not been planning to make.

“It’s more than a hobby, though it did take me by surprise when they asked me to do it,” said Luke. “I was not pursuing it. But I really, really enjoy it. It’s an energizing thing to do.”

Tasker has a business and a young family at home. (He and his wife, Jenna, have known each other since kindergarten. They have three children.)

“My mindset toward my sports media is not to climb a ladder,” he said. “I’m not looking for that. I don’t know what will come of it in the future, but I’m certainly very, very pleased to be the colour analyst for the Ticats Audio Network.”

In Buffalo, the Bills are entering a season filled with expectations. In Hamilton, the Ticats are out of a playoff spot, but still have two months to mount a rally. Theoretically, both have a shot to win a title.

And that is more territory the Taskers share. Steve Tasker was part of a Buffalo team that advanced to the Super Bowl four times, but left each without a win. Luke Tasker was part of a team that lost three times in the Grey Cup — and lost another one the season after he retired.

“I won’t lie: I recognized that if I had played one more year of football, my dad would have lost four Super Bowls and I would have lost four Grey Cups,” Luke said with a laugh. “That is not lost on me.”

(Top photo: Brent Just / Getty Images)

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