ESPN is further strengthening its baseball coverage after reaching a multi-year contract extension with Senior MLB Insider Jeff Passan, a move that also includes the launch of a new baseball podcast in partnership with Omaha Productions.
The agreement keeps Passan in place as one of the company’s most visible and authoritative voices on Major League Baseball, while also giving him a new platform to deepen storytelling and leverage the insider access that has defined his reporting across television, digital and audio properties.
As part of the expanded role, Passan will host an ESPN baseball podcast produced in conjunction with Omaha Productions, the media company founded by Peyton Manning, which has steadily increased its footprint in sports media through partnerships that blend personality-driven programming with strong editorial backing.
Passan, who joined ESPN in 2019, said the extension reflects both professional fulfillment and an opportunity to innovate within the sport he has covered for nearly two decades.
“I came to ESPN seven years ago hoping to spend the rest of my career telling stories to the biggest and most passionate audience in the sports world,” Passan said. “I’m extraordinarily lucky to work with a team of great reporters, editors, producers, hosts and analysts. And I can’t wait to deliver an entirely new kind of baseball show for those who love the best game in the world.”
The new podcast further broadens Passan’s presence across a portfolio that already includes regular appearances on ESPN.com, The Pat McAfee Show, SportsCenter, Get Up, Baseball Tonight, Pardon the Interruption, ESPN Radio and ESPN’s social platforms, where he frequently breaks news and provides context on trades, contract negotiations and league developments.
Burke Magnus, ESPN president of content, described Passan as one of the most respected journalists covering the sport and emphasized the strategic value of expanding his reach through an owned audio product.
“Jeff is one of the industry’s leading journalists and most-respected voices in baseball,” Magnus said. “We’re delighted that Jeff will expand his presence at ESPN with his own podcast and continue to lead our breaking news coverage of MLB.”
Since arriving from Yahoo Sports, where he spent 13 years building a national profile, Passan has become synonymous with ESPN’s MLB news cycle, often driving conversation with scoops and long-form features that examine the business and human sides of the game.
His work has earned significant recognition, including the Dan Jenkins Medal for Excellence in Sportswriting in 2022 for a 2021 story on San Francisco Giants outfielder Drew Robinson. Additionally, the National Sports Media Association named him National Sportswriter of the Year in both 2021 and 2023.
Beyond daily reporting, Passan is also the author of the New York Times bestseller “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports” and co-author of “Death to the BCS.” This year, he and his family established the Rich Passan Sports Writing Scholarship, aimed at supporting aspiring sports journalists.
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