The Replacement For Woj As ESPN's NBA News Breaker? Apparently MLB Reporter Jeff Passan Has Emerged As A Candidate

Strange. Very, very strange. Jeff Passan leaving MLB coverage to switch over to NBA would feel so weird. Big time Michael Jordan on the White Sox vibe. How does that even work? Let's talk about it. 

ESPN is in such an odd place right now. They pay big money to SVP, Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith. When it comes to giving takes those are their three big faces, while everyone else is pretty much expendable. NBA and NFL coverage mean everything to the company. As do their hot takes. Real analysis, breakdowns, and genuine opinions are a thing of the past for them. The directive from up top is to say ridiculous shit and watch the engagement numbers fly. 

Now despite the NBA and ESPN recently agreeing to a major rights deal, they turned around the other day and laid off their top writer in Zach Lowe. You also had Woj leaving his post to become the GM of the Bonnies last week. I think many assumed they'd target Shams, a soon to be free agent in the business, to replace the big man. If not him, then pivot to someone maybe like Jake Fischer for a cheaper option. The last person I expected to be in strong consideration for the gig was JEFF PASSAN.

Maybe it's just his passion for baseball, but he comes off to me as a guy who only cares about the seams. Doesn't even consider that there are other sports to watch. Also, how would that even work? Does Woj just give him his phone and say good luck? Boom, you're the new guy. Falcon taking over for Captain America kinda shit. 

Why Passan would do this is two fold. 1) Way more money. The Athletic estimates he makes around a million a year covering baseball. Woj was making $7M and left $20M on his deal to enter the college basketball world. If he can get half of that it's a no brainer. 2) ESPN is at a cross roads with MLB and could very easily shift their attention away from baseball. As the article reports, the worldwide leader has an opt out in their contract with MLB after next 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.

 It's possible there is no need for Passan to cover baseball the way he does if they choose to walk away. Maybe they gave him a heads up and he's pivoting to a better opportunity? 

Here's another aspect to this —Passan can write. Woj wasn't doing that anymore for ESPN while he was breaking news. With Lowe getting let go, it's possible they view Passan as potentially that 2 for the price of one option. What good is he for their baseball coverage if they're on their way out of that anyways? They still have Buster Olney and Jesse Rogers. For their interest value, they do they job. And if they don't, then oh well. Passan bombs for NBA news will feel alien. I don't like this one bit. It probably shouldn't concern or bother me much at all really, but here I am being an idiot concerned about who the next big basketball news breaker at ESPN will be. Dammit.