Before we present the 25 most powerful people in sports media for 2022, a few things you should know.
• These are based on this year. The most powerful people in sports media are the heads of the leagues and networks, so there is no Adam Silver or Roger Goodell. This is based on, “Who had the strongest 2022?”
• There is no formula. This is my opinion, although I consulted with people I trust.
• Here’s the most important thing: if anyone in the business complains about where they were ranked or where their boss was ranked, it will be on the record. I don’t want to hear it, but if you insist, I’m reprinting what you say.
And without further adieu, here are the 25 most powerful people in sports media for 2022.
1. Joe Buck, ESPN Monday Night Football play-by-play
Buck went from Fox Sports to ESPN, getting almost double in the process (from $9 million to $15 million a year) for half the work (no more baseball, just the NFL). And here’s the kicker: Buck’s reduced schedule will likely bring more popularity to Al Michaels in the same way that it has helped him with less and more of his approach in the second half of his career.
2. Eric Shanks, Fox Sports CEO
For now, Shanks and Fox Sports’ decision to enter the subscription streaming jungle looks like it could be one of the biggest in sports media history. At least in the short term.
He also owned Fox Big Ten talk shows, and had the World Cup, World Series and the upcoming Super Bowl. Also, Shanks gets points here for doing something he shouldn’t have done – letting Buck go to ESPN. Read also : Help wanted: Colorado high school sports need officials. It was a human thing, even if Buck had one more year on his deal.
3. Tom Brady, Buccaneers quarterback
As we reported on the day of the deal, Brady received a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox Sports. Lachlan Murdoch, Fox’s executive chairman, would later call the number “in the right direction”. The question now is what direction Brady will take. This may interest you : 2022 NBA Draft: Excel Sports Management sees most first-round picks. Will he continue to play? Go to the cabin? Take a year off? However you look at it, Brady is a media player.
4. Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN
The ESPN president fixed up the Monday Night Football booth with Buck and Troy Aikman. Pitaro will add MNF flex programming next year. Read also : Kareem Hunt of Browns Ops Out of Team Drills for Second Practice, per reports. ESPN has gone all in on streaming — no half-measures, that is, if you’re on the right track — while still rating very well on cable. Additionally, Pitaro extended his deal with Omaha Productions’ Manningcast, including being favorably mentioned on ESPN’s “Saturday Night Live.”
5. Marie Donoghue, Amazon Vice President of Global Sports Video
Donoghue sold his bosses on the idea of Amazon getting the rights to broadcast the NFL on Thursday nights. Having an exclusive NFL package on Amazon Prime Video is a historic moment for sports media as a new era begins this year. He and Jay Marin, Amazon’s Global Head of Sports for Prime Video, continue to strengthen their relationship with the NBA through several deals. This is the playbook that Amazon used before they made their $1 trillion-plus-a-year deal with the NFL. NBA rights are up after the 2024-25 season. Everyone paying attention?
6. Charles Barkley, TNT analyst
Barkley is the greatest studio analyst in history. I don’t think there is much of an argument. I’m not sure who would have been second. With that, Warner Bros. Discovery dropped the final three years of its deal with Barkley, who went from $10 million a year to Tony Romo’s neighborhood $18 million in a new 10-year deal. Whether TNT and its parent company, WBD, retain the NBA, it’s a smart move to show up for negotiations with Barkley and the rest of the iconic “Inside the NBA” team.
7. Stephen A. Smith, ESPN personality
Smith has done his thing this year, but once again – look out, folks – he’s building something. Not only is he ubiquitous on ESPN, but he started a podcast with new episodes three times a week. It seems that the relatively bright Smith, 55, is trying to replace Jimmy Kimmel on the night if Kimmel leaves after three years.
Despite the different skill set, ratings for “First Take” continue to climb, making Smith’s star higher than ever.
8. Peyton Manning, Omaha Productions founder
Here’s what you have to love about Manning: Yes, he’s got a team around him, but he’s really involved in his company, big and small, depending on the people he works with. Omaha Productions is a young company, but it already means something. Whether it’s bringing in Buck for an alt-cast in golf or Pat McAfee for college football or Stephen A. in basketball, if Peyton calls, everyone takes it. He’s a closer like Mariano Rivera.
9. Pat McAfee, YouTube host, ESPN College GameDay panelist
McAfee is his own conglomerate, which is pretty incredible. By the end of 2021, he was signed to FanDuel for over $30 million a year, which didn’t stop him from taking in some more advertising money for his YouTube show. He became a WWE star as an analyst. And this year, he joined ESPN’s flagship “College GameDay,” where he already feels, in many ways, the center of attention.
10. Mike Tirico, NBC SNF play-by-player/Olympics host
Tirico replaced Michaels on “Sunday Night Football” after previously filling in for Bob Costas as host of the Olympics. Although the transition to SNF took longer than Tirico expected, he’s only 56 years old and could potentially last two gigs. He sure likes to work.
11. Kevin Burkhardt, Fox NFL play-by-play and host
Burkhardt would be the first to say that his good fortune came out of nowhere. No one thought Buck would leave Fox Sports with one year left on his contract. But Buck pulled out, and now Burkhardt will call two of the next three Super Bowls after Fox said no to the 77-year-old Michaels. Add in the fact that Burkhardt is the host of the World Series and you can’t blame him for saying “hold me, is this really happening?” the illusion
12. Sean McManus, chairman of CBS Sports
Working with CBS Sports President David Berson, McManus retained Champions League football and picked up Big Ten football rights, the former critical to his Paramount+ streaming business and the latter essential to the SEC next season. McManus also began CBS’s transition into its next era: Jim Nantz will call his final Final Four next year, making way for Ian Eagle.
13. Troy Aikman, ESPN NFL analyst
I still remember the text I got from a source at dinner: “Aikman is going to ESPN and I think Buck is going too.” He told the family, “I’ve got to go,” and didn’t actually come back until months later after the NFL’s crazy broadcast carousel stopped (has it stopped?). Aikman was split on a deal to stay at Fox and add Thursday nights to Amazon. It was close, but it didn’t happen, and the rest is sports history. Aikman got his Tony Romo money at $18 million a year.
14. Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN/Amazon football analyst
Herbstreit paid for it. The exact figures aren’t fully known yet, but it’s believed he’s making an additional $20 million between his new Amazon TNF game analyst contract and his role as ESPN “College GameDay”/lead game analyst. Not to mention, it’s on ESPN during the week. He’s talked about it hurting him in his first season, but the controls should be nice.
15. Brian Rolapp, NFL’s chief business & media officer
The NFL is the most powerful entity in sports media. Take a look at the top 14 positions on this list – 12 of them have a direct connection to the league. Even Stephen A. always talks NFL. Barkley is alone in the top group, truly without an NFL tie.
It can be argued that no one has decided the future of media—not just sports—more than Rolapp.
Rolapp made deals with CBS, NBC, Fox and ESPN to effectively televise games on Sundays and Mondays in the 2030s. Also, with Amazon in the mix and the flexibility of rights contracts, the NFL has also ushered in the next era.
Where the Sunday Ticket ends up could have significant implications — a decision should come soon because DirecTV’s deal expires after this season.
16. Tiger Woods, professional golfer
Do you think if Tiger Woods went to LIV Golf, he would already have a TV deal? That’s a rhetorical question. The answer is: of course. Woods reportedly turned down an offer of $700 million or $800 million. Dang, that’s power.
Woods’ decision could have weakened the PGA’s standing in its battle with LIV. He’s still fighting, but Woods has his side, and that has huge media implications.
17. Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN NBA insider
When Wojciech was writing insightful columns for the Bergen Record years ago, I’m not sure anyone saw him going down in history as an NBA inside legend. With a new deal that pays him $7 million a year, Woj has been so big that he has become a story about every NBA story. It is strong within ESPN and in the NBA.
18. Adam Schefter, ESPN NFL insider
Schefter’s misperception is that he’s just a human Pez dispenser, into which GMs and agents insert information pills, which he then stuns. Schefter is that, but there’s more. He is a major part of the NFL ecosystem and leads the way by uncovering important nuggets. And he was paid $9 million a year while feeding ESPN’s shows.
He really needs to take a deep breath when reporting non-transactional news because he makes too many mistakes with emotional issues.
19. Nate Burleson, CBS morning host/NFL Today analyst
Burleson has moved into Michael Strahan territory as the guy who does the morning news, NFL analysis and more. Who could have seen this coming? (Oh, this piece is from July 2019? Thanks for making it look good, Nate.) Burelson is a superstar who has managed his career to perfection.
20. Dave Portnoy, Barstool Founder
Barstool is part of the lexicon with its mix of comedy and controversy. Portnoy is the leader of the company. He can be entertaining with pizza reviews and vindictive when he goes after anyone he perceives to have crossed. He has an impact: he can claim Tottenham as his favorite Premier League team and will soon be doing a pizza review with Harry Kane and Co.
21. Pete Bevacqua, NBC Sports Chairman
NBC went bigger in the college game by acquiring the Big Ten rights. Also, our memories have to be long to make these classifications. NBC kicked off the year with the Olympics and the Super Bowl, which is about as big as it gets.
22. Luis Silberwasser, Chairman Warner Bros. Discovery Sports
Silberwasser replaced Jeff Zucker as head of sports at Turner and HBO Max. It hosts a massive portfolio that includes NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness and “The Match” golf exhibitions. It may rise on this list in the coming years because, entering 2023, where is WBD Sports going? It’s unclear at the moment after so many changes. Silberwasser will lead the plan.
23. Matt Kramer, Josh Pyatt and Tom Young, agents
WME’s Pyatt brought Aikman to ESPN on the way to a Fox/Amazon combination. As one TV executive said at the time, the move doesn’t happen without Pyatt orchestrating it. Kramer, co-head of CAA Sports Media Group with Young, was behind Woj’s and Schefter’s mega-deals (David Koonin was also at Schefter). Young was the mastermind behind Buck’s move from Fox to ESPN.
24. Malika Andrews, ESPN NBA host and reporter
Here’s Andrews’ number you need to know: 27. How old is she? Not too bad, considering he’s becoming the face of NBA coverage, ubiquitous on his daily show, as a sideline reporter and now as host of “NBA Countdown.” Where does his career go from here? If you were going to buy stock there, you probably would.
25. Molly Solomon, Executive Producer, NBC Olympics & Golf
As executive producer of the Beijing Winter Olympics, Solomon had to deal with both COVID and China. Although it wasn’t the most watched Olympics, it was a feat to get it on air under tense circumstances.
One last note: I’m serious. You guys can complain, but it’s on the record and I’m printing it in the next newsletter.
