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Adam Schefter, ESPN's longtime NFL insider, is expected to hit free agency this summer, according to a report by Front Office Sports. Along with Schefter, ESPN colleague Adrian Wojnarowski and NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium are likely to make moves in the media landscape soon.
The New York Times recently purchased The Athletic for a reported $550 million to bolster their sports coverage on a global level. The Athletic, founded six years ago, has suffered major losses in the last two years despite boasting quality sports journalism with an elite group of journalists and analysts on the roster.
Adam Schefter, Adrian Wojnarowski could leave ESPN
According to FOS' report, Schefter's contract is nearly up at ESPN, and the NFL insider would be open to taking on a new challenge elsewhere. Schefter currently earns $2 million annually with ESPN, but there could be a bidding war if the highly-experienced journalist decides to move on.
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ESPN reportedly has an exclusive negotiating window to retain the services of both Schefter and Wojnarowski. The company is expected to convince insiders to decline other offers.
But the New York Times isn't the only one interested in hiring the ever-reliant Schefter. Sports betting giants such as Caesars Sportsbook, FanDuel and DraftKings could enter the two-way race between ESPN and NYT to acquire the NFL insider. Caesars recently signed Peyton, Eli and Archie Manning along with former ESPN personalities Kenny Mayne and Trey Wingo.
The report also stated how the NYT could end up luring some of the best sports reporters from around the world:
“Both Schefter and Wojnarowski made their bones in the newspaper businesss. They might welcome the chance to write more for a legacy brand like the New York Times rather than doing endless quick hits for ESPN studio shows.”
Despite the noise around their contracts, they could still be with ESPN in the coming years. A source told FOS:
“ESPN is going to fight hard to keep both [Schefter and Wojnarowski]. They’re well thought-of inside Bristol."
The Athletic suffered a huge loss of a reported $55 million in 2021. But with the New York Times acquisition, the sports-heavy news website could help boost NYT's sports coverage via its 1.2 million digital subscribers. Such a lucrative deal could help the media company inch closer to its goal of 10 million subscriptions. The legacy newspaper will take advantage of The Athletic's dedicated reporting and huge market in the sports industry. For the NYT, advertising is going to be the key:
"Key to making the The Athletic financial turnaround are the addition of advertisements. The Times makes about 70% of its revenue from subscriptions and much of the remainder coming from advertising — a split that looks to be an aspirational goal for The Athletic."
