After having spent the last two decades-plus of his career at Yahoo Sports, Dan Wetzel is on the move.
On Thursday, ESPN announced that it has hired Wetzel, who will join the Worldwide Leader as a senior writer.
According to a release, the Norwell, Mass., native will “focus on investigative reporting, news analysis, feature storytelling and will work in multiple platforms, including the podcast and television/streaming spaces.” His first day at ESPN will be March 17.
In addition to Wetzel, ESPN also announced the hiring of Juanita Ceballos, who will serve as a producer aiding the network’s investigative team.
“We are thrilled with these two impressive additions,” Chris Buckle, the ESPN vice president who oversees the company’s investigative unit, said in a statement. “With the recent re-signings of senior writers Mark Fainaru-Wada and Michael Fletcher, ESPN is further cemented as the place to find best-in-class investigative and enterprise journalism.”
I have, indeed, accepted a job at ESPN as a Senior Writer, focusing on investigative reporting, news analysis and feature storytelling across multiple platforms, including podcasts and television/streaming spaces.
I want to thank Jimmy Pitaro, Burke Magnus, Chris Buckle, Mike… https://t.co/HXkmlNF694
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) March 6, 2025
ESPN’s hiring of Dan Wetzel is especially notable, as the longtime Yahoo columnist has widely been regarded as one of the best sportswriters of the 21st century. Possessing the versatility to cover just about every sport at the amateur, professional and Olympic level, he’s also a New York Times best-selling author, screenwriter and the executive producer of Netflix’s three-part docuseries, Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez.
But while Wetzel’s resume possesses plenty of variety, he’s perhaps best known for his coverage of scandals in the sports world. In addition to reporting and opining on a plethora of controversies involving college programs (and the NCAA itself), he’s been a leading voice with regard to criminal cases involving Aaron Hernandez, Larry Nassar, Jerry Sandusky and the Steubenville (Ohio) High School football program.
As such, Dan Wetzel makes for an ideal fit for ESPN’s investigative team, which the network appears to be re-investing in. Conversely, his departure from Yahoo Sports marks the end of an era for the online outlet, which has seen multiple high profile departures — some of whom have also landed at ESPN — in recent years.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.