When Adrian Wojnarowski announced his retirement from ESPN nearly two weeks ago, it shocked the sports world because he had cemented himself as the breaker of (mostly) NBA news and was a staple of the sport with his Woj bombs.
Before the shock wore off, fans started speculating about who could replace Wojnarowski with many pointing to Shams Charania as an obvious choice.
ESPN baseball insider Jeff Passan is a top candidate for the job, along with Charania, according to a new report from The Athletic on Saturday. The report cited six sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The report about top candidates to replace Wojnarowski follows news this week that ESPN laid off NBA writer Zach Lowe.
More from The Athletic‘s Andrew Marchand:
Passan, 44, followed the same path as Wojnarowski by first becoming a top insider at Yahoo Sports before moving to ESPN. Passan makes in the neighborhood of $1 million per year, according to sources briefed on his contract. Wojnarowski left $20 million on his deal when he left journalism to become the general manager of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team. Wojnarowski was earning around $7 million per season.
Besides the potential for greater earnings for Passan, ESPN has a long-term relationship with the NBA as it just signed an 11-year extension to be the home of the NBA Finals. Meanwhile, ESPN’s marriage to baseball is in a tenuous stage. It has an opt-out in its current contract, which is for $540 million per season, that it is expected to use or threaten to use by the end of next season. While ESPN could stay in business with MLB, it is not guaranteed. ESPN has an interest in MLB’s local rights, which could be where the two sides come together.
