Longtime NBC 10 anchor, Vai Sikahema, will be retiring from his role with the TV station later this year.

Sikahema, who rose to fame playing with the Philadelphia Eagles, had been with the station for 26 years. He joined the station as a sports anchor, but he has been anchoring the station's news programs for several years.

The 57-year-old currently co-anchors the station's morning broadcasts (from 4-7 am and 11 am) alongside Tracy Davidson.

The news of Sikahema's upcoming retirement was first reported by The Philadelphia Business Journal on Wednesday, and they say the NBC affiliate confirmed the news of his departure in a statement.

Sikahema will stay on the air for a while. He won't officially retire until this upcoming November, the station told the Philadelphia Business Journal. NBC10 plans to celebrate the anchor's illustrious career with a grand sendoff in the coming months.

“Vai has been a staple at our station for over a quarter of a century,” an NBC10 spokeswoman told the Philadelphia Business Journal.  "We will miss his presence on the anchor desk and in the newsroom. We congratulate Vai for his many years of service to our team and his commitment to our community. We look forward to celebrating Vai and his many accomplishments with our NBC10 family.”

94.5 PST reached out to NBC 10 for additional comment as well on Wednesday.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, several Philadelphia TV stations have made tough layoffs. We told you back in late May that CBS 3 had laid off their long time sports anchor Lesley Van Arsdall. The CBS station also released their morning traffic reporter Chandler Lutz, South Jersey reporter Cleve Bryan, and general assignment reporter and fill-in anchor Chantee Lans, according to reports. 

Plus, earlier this summer, NBC10's longtime weekend anchor, Denise Nakano, announced her departure from the station. It didn't take Nakano long to resurface on the media scene, actually. She is now working as a radio news anchor in Philadelphia.

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