Dan Orlovsky’s ESPN Deal Expiring As He Explores NFL Options
The 41-year-old NFL analyst’s current three-year deal expires this summer, sources tell Front Office Sports. ESPN wants to sign him to a contract extension. But whether Orlovsky re-ups is still up in...
View ArticleScott Hanson in Talks With NBC As NFL Network Negotiations Stall
NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson is in talks with NBC Sports about a wide-ranging job that could include Olympics and NFL coverage. Hanson’s contract with NFL Media expired after the NFL season, sources...
View ArticleShaquille O’Neal, TNT Agree to Extension Worth Over $15M/Year
Shaquille O’Neal has an agreement in place for an enormous long-term deal with TNT Sports that will pay him over $15 million per year, Front Office Sports has learned. The deal is good news for TNT...
View ArticleESPN Is Treating 4 Nations Finale Like a Stanley Cup Final
ESPN is leaning in to coverage of the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off like it’s Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. Heading into Thursday night’s championship game between the USA and Canada, top ESPN hockey...
View ArticleTop 20 NBA Media Talent Targets Left for Amazon, NBC, and the Rest
There’s been a gold rush on NBA TV talent as NBC Sports and Amazon Prime Video build their broadcast teams for the 2025–2026 season. But plenty of talented people remain available—now or in the near...
View Article33rd Team Cuts Staff, Scaling Back Site to Focus on NFL Consulting, Tech
A number of jobs at The 33rd Team website are being eliminated as the NFL-focused company will center its resources on other aspects of the business, Front Office Sports has confirmed. About 8-10...
View ArticleFS1’s Nick Wright Opens Up on High-Stakes Poker, Facing Phil Hellmuth
Nick Wright is best known as the co-host of the popular First Things First sports talk show on FS1, where he has become arguably the most visible national fan of the Chiefs and has pounded the drum on...
View ArticleWhy Sports Broadcasters Are Negotiating in Public—and Whether They’ll Pay the...
During Super Bowl week, Greg Olsen of Fox Sports had to clarify comments he was disappointed Tom Brady got the Super Bowl LIX assignment instead of him. Some speculated Olsen was sending a signal he...
View ArticleNFL Wants to Sell Media Rights for Men’s, Women’s Flag Football Leagues
The NFL seems to conjure lucrative new media rights out of thin air. Look for the league to eventually open bidding on another possible new package: Professional Flag Football. In his annual state of...
View ArticleFS1 ‘Sidelines’ Joy Taylor From ‘Speak’
Questions are rising about Joy Taylor’s status at Fox Sports’ FS1 network after she missed three straight days of hosting Speak this week. Taylor missed the shows because she was “sidelined” by the...
View ArticleWho Could Replace Jimmy Johnson on ‘Fox NFL Sunday’?
Jimmy Johnson was one of the key early hires when he joined Fox Sports’ new Fox NFL Sunday pregame show in 1994. The network needed instant gravitas as it took over the NFC TV package long held by CBS...
View ArticleJoy Taylor Still Sidelined From FS1’s ‘Speak’
Joy Taylor’s absence from FS1’s Speak has reached a second week. Last week, Front Office Sports reported Taylor was “sidelined” by FS1 from appearing on the ensemble talk show. The reason why the...
View ArticleWhy NBC Is a Natural Successor for ESPN’s Voided MLB Rights
MLB is currently hustling to get a chunk of its national live rights in order after ESPN opted out of its deal for Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby, and the wild-card playoff round. Last...
View ArticleESPN’s ‘Around the Horn’ Will End May 23
ESPN has set the final show date for its long-running Around the Horn debate show. The weekday staple will air its final episode May 23, the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. Once the show’s run has...
View ArticleESPN Should Replace ‘Around the Horn’ With an ‘Insiders’ Show
As first reported by Front Office Sports, ESPN has officially canceled Around the Horn. The talk/debate show will end its legendary run on May 23, after 23 years and more than 4,900 shows. ESPN won’t...
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Pat McAfee Rips NFL ‘Middle Management,’ Says Show Won’t Be at Green Bay Draft
Pat McAfee says he will not be taking his show on the road for the NFL Draft after being treated with what he says was insufficient respect by “middle managers” at the Scouting Combine in Indianapolis...
View ArticleStephen A. Smith Agrees to $100M+ ESPN Deal, Not Constrained to Sports
Stephen A. Smith is not going anywhere—at least not for a while. Front Office Sports has confirmed that the prolific sports media host and opinionist reached a five-year contract extension with ESPN...
View ArticleJay Mariotti Thinks Canceled ‘Around the Horn’ Went ‘Woke’
Despite being off the show for almost 15 years, few panelists are linked more inextricably to ESPN’s Around the Horn than Jay Mariotti. During the sports debate show’s formative years from 2002 to...
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How ‘Around the Horn’ Beat Doubts Inside ESPN to Become an Icon
Mark Shapiro had to scratch and claw to get Around the Horn on the air. Shapiro, now the president and COO of Endeavor and TKO, was the ESPN programming chief who spearheaded the creation of Pardon...
View ArticleFox COO: Company Will ‘Look At’ ESPN MLB Rights
Fox Sports is already eyeing ESPN’s Major League Baseball media properties. ESPN and MLB are headed for a divorce after 35 years in business together. That means ESPN’s rights to the Home Run Derby,...
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