One of the biggest sources of free agent news in professional sports is set to become a free agent himself in the coming months.
NFL media representative Ian Rapoport's contract will expire during the 2024 NFL offseason, the Post reported.
Rapoport joined NFL Network in 2012 after covering the Patriots for the Boston Herald.
In addition to NFL Media, Rapoport has been a regular contributor to “The Pat McAfee Show” in the past, and returned to the show last week for the first time in several months.
Perhaps even if McAfee and ESPN end their previously rocky partnership, Rapoport and McAfee could rekindle regular roles in the future, whether or not Rapoport remains with NFL Media.
There's a dearth of people of Rapoport's caliber and close connections to be top-level league insiders.
Rapoport and Adam Schefter are considered the most prolific NFL insiders, competing with each other to win on the metaphorical scoreboard.
Sports media doesn't have many people who can drive the kind of social engagement that elite insiders do, but this is a valuable commodity for gambling companies, some of which have their own media departments.
For example, FanDuel has partnered with NBA insider Shams Charania on a linear network, which also includes social media posts.
DraftKings has also built a robust OTT network.
At 44 years old, Rapoport still has a long road ahead of him in his career.
The newspaper's Andrew Marchand reported in 2022 that ESPN had signed Adrian Wojnarowski to a deal worth $80 million over five years after receiving interest from Schefter and a gambling company.
Last week, Marchand reported that the NFL and ESPN were negotiating a deal in which the league would acquire an equity stake in ESPN.
ESPN will take over management of NFL Media, including NFL Network, Red Zone, and NFL Media. NFL.com.
Rapaport referred the Post to NFL media relations, which did not respond to requests for comment.
