Rumors of Sunday Night Baseball‘s demise might be greatly exaggerated. Last week, reports surfaced that ESPN opted out of its current contract with Major League Baseball, creating uncertainty about the league’s future on the network. Although MLB claims the opt out was “mutual”, sparked by ESPN’s lack of coverage, many anticipated that the network aimed to renegotiate its $550 million yearly agreement rather than completely remove the league from its lineup.
Supporting this view, Puck’s John Ourand recently reported that ESPN felt it was not receiving adequate value from its current deal, which encompasses Sunday Night Baseball, the Home Run Derby, and the Wild Card games. Consequently, the network proposed two alternatives to MLB: either expanding the inventory while maintaining the $550 million fee, or reducing the cost with the same inventory. MLB declined both options and is now focusing on pursuing other opportunities in the open market, hoping to secure a new bidder as they aim for a long-term deal by 2028 when the rest of the league’s national media rights are up for grabs.
However, prominent MLB reporter Evan Drellich from The Athletic isn’t ruling out ESPN just yet. Having covered numerous developments in MLB’s media rights landscape, Drellich with Ourand on The Varsity podcast expressed that he doesn’t believe this signals the end of Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. He pointed out how MLB, Rob Manfred, and Diamond Sports Group went through an extremely messy process but eventually reached a reunion in several markets, stating, “Compared to that, this is pretty tame.” He noted, “In no way at this point do I think… the ESPN-MLB relationship is truly finally done. They’re going to keep talking.”
Drellich raises an important point. Though negotiations under MLB commissioner Rob Manfred have often become contentious, at their core, these discussions are business transactions. If ESPN and MLB can agree on a mutually beneficial deal, it would be unwise for either side to dismiss the possibility of future collaboration, whether in the short term or as 2028 approaches. Nevertheless, given Manfred’s recent statements, it appears the league is keen on involving other partners for the next few years. Ourand also reported that MLB is “hellbent” on finding additional partners, yet it remains premature to entirely discount ESPN, despite the current circumstances suggesting otherwise.
