Earlier this month, ESPN announced that it had re-signed betting analyst Erin Dolan to a multi-year contract.
The news cemented the 29-year-old, who joined the Worldwide Leader in late 2021 after stints with PointsBet and FanDuel, as one of their faces, if not the main face, of their sports betting coverage.
Dolan, who has become a regular contributor on SportsCenter, Sunday NFL Countdown, ESPN BET Live, and other programming, recently spoke with Jenna Lemoncelli at the New York Post about what’s gone into her ascent at ESPN and how she remains focused on the path ahead of her while working in two industries that aren’t always welcoming to female talent.
“I feel like I’ve done a good job at keeping the line of entertainment and fun, while also being professional, and balancing many different hats,” Dolan told the Post. “I feel like on ESPN, I have the opportunity to, let’s say, for example, on ‘SportsCenter,’ I’m not going to be my crazy fun self as much as I would be on ‘BET Live,’ and then I’m more buttoned up on ‘Countdown.’”
Building credibility was essential for Dolan, given the dynamics of both the sports and gambling worlds. She told the Post that avoiding noise and online harassment as much as possible has been crucial.
“I think no matter what, I’ll always have a target [on me] in general,” Dolan said. “I’m in a space that’s more niche than even sports is. When I was first coming up, it was so hard for me. It was really difficult, especially because I’m telling people what to put their money on. So the security side of that is a real thing. I have all my DMs off completely , like I don’t see anything. I usually don’t read anything. Sometimes I’ll see something, but I find it funny at this point.”
The ESPN sports betting analyst also said she gets plenty of comments about her looks, but can shrug them off.
“People say, ‘She used to be thicker’ or ‘She looks so old’ or ‘She looked better before this,'” Dolan said. “… People just come for your body, and it is just nonstop… But I find them actually hilarious.”
Dolan, who graduated from Penn State University with a degree in broadcast journalism, almost quit the business before she got started, but decided to stick with it after receiving some advice from her father.
“I actually thought about getting out of the industry right away when I came out of college, because I knew that I didn’t really like those things, but my dad was like, just stick with it for a little bit, see what happens,” Dolan said. “And then this opportunity [with ESPN] hit, and obviously, I hit at a very lucky time. I understand my timing was quite impeccable, and the industry, it lined up right away with graduating and then that [sports betting] becoming legal.”
Dolan has indeed been at the right place at the right time so far in her sports media career, and ESPN seems to see a lot more ahead for her and their sports betting coverage.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.