Scott Van Pelt has been an ESPN mainstay since he joined the “Worldwide Leader” in 2001, and throughout his decades-long career, he has contributed to the platform through a variety of different outlets.
Since 2015, he has been the host of his own solo nighttime edition of SportsCenter broadcasting from Washington, D.C. Approaching the decade mark as a featured host of the network’s longtime flagship program, Van Pelt has started to think about his future in sports media and on the show itself.
In a recent appearance on SI Media With Jimmy Traina, ESPN SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt revealed he does not see himself hosting the show for many more years, as he is looking to transition to a new phase of his career.
“My contract doesn’t run that long,” Van Pelt said when asked if he would host the show for at least three more years, “and there are conversations to be had about what all is part of it. At some point, you just [have] to step aside and let somebody else have it.”
Van Pelt did divulge that if ESPN approached him with similar money that the LIV Tour was offering PGA Tour golfers to join its entity, then he would remain on SportsCenter and tell people about all the action every single night.
“At some point, it’s Tuesday night and you’re following the White Sox and it’s like, ‘That’s fun too,’ but it’s just not the same level of juice as a night like this,” Van Pelt explained. “Or you’re following taped programming – it’s a 30 for 30 and here you come. Coming off a game, at least there’s a game.”
Throughout the last several years, ESPN has revamped its lineup of SportsCenter hosts and pairings on the air, including forming the duos of Randy Scott and Gary Striewski; and Ashley Brewer and Stan Verrett. Van Pelt, meanwhile, has remained in the midnight EST slot and is widely considered to be the face of the television property. The approach the network asked him to take in hosting, however, has shifted since the turn of the century.
“When I started here, they [didn’t] want you to have any personality or opinion,” Van Pelt said.
Traina asked Van Pelt how he reacted when reports surfaced that ESPN was signing Pat McAfee to a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract to bring his eponymous digital show to its linear platforms. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post later reported his salary to be around $15 million, a figure McAfee did not confirm when asked for comment by the outlet shortly thereafter.
Van Pelt was pleased to see McAfee receiving the money the network gave to him, a similar sentiment to Stephen A. Smith, because it effectively resets the market for future negotiations.
“Not negatively,” Van Pelt said when learning of McAfee’s reported salary. “I’m thrilled for anyone in our business who gets paid, sincerely. If you do a pocket-watching thing where you’re worried about what others make, then you’ll waste a lot of time being bummed out. I’m well-compensated for my time.”
ESPN drew for signing McAfee during the layoffs. A concurrent report about staffers at ESPN’s Bristol headquarters being displeased with the choices of the network further aggravated the sentiment; however, those in the media business seem to have an understanding of the value McAfee brings to the airwaves.
“People use the word ‘optics,’ and they say, ‘Oh, the optics,’” Van Pelt said. “Disney’s running a business, and if you believe that Pat McAfee and that show and the ways that he can be used for the company are going to grow viewership, then you spend money. In business, you spend money to make money, and I think everyone understands that concept.”
