The end of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball with KayRod could be near, as Álex Rodríguez is reportedly nearing a contract extension that would have him work exclusively with FOX Sports. The 22-year MLB veteran first joined the network on a full-time basis in 2017 on a multi-year deal, and he reportedly gave the network approval before it inked Derek Jeter to join him. Completing the marquee studio panel is former Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz and NFL on FOX play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. The quartet has been on the air before FOX Sports’ marquee games throughout the season, and will work together during the postseason and World Series.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, which first broke the news, the deal is the most lucrative for a Major League Baseball analyst in the history of the profession. While no details have been confirmed, the contract is believed to be more than three years in length.
Over the last several years, FOX Sports has inked a deluge of big-name talent to supplement its marquee events coverage. Rodríguez, Jeter and Ortiz are among the best players in the history of baseball, and when it broadcasts Super Bowl LIX, FOX Sports will celebrate the first year of legendary quarterback Tom Brady being in the broadcast booth. The network also signed Carli Lloyd to broadcast showcase soccer games and events, including the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Rodríguez, 48, has a variety of business interests both in and out of sports, including as part-owner of the National Basketball Association’s Minnesota Timberwolves. The new contract extension will separate him from ESPN, the network he has worked for in 2018, and creates an uncertain future for alternate broadcasts of Sunday Night Baseball.
