ESPN re-signs veteran investigative reporter Don Van Natta Jr.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Don Van Natta Jr. has reached a new multiyear contract with ESPN. Per Sports Business Journal’s Richard Deitsch, the contract term is four years.

Van Natta joined ESPN in 2012 and has worked as a senior writer within ESPN’s Investigative, Enterprise and Digital Journalism Unit since then.

“Don brings experience, expertise and unmatched persistence to his work every day, and we’re thrilled that he will be contributing to our journalism for years to come,” said Chris Buckle, ESPN Vice President, Investigative, Enterprise and Digital Journalism.

With ESPN, Van Natta has extensively reported on labor relations, with a focus on the NFL and MLB. Van Natta’s reporting last year led to the resignation of NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell.

Prior to his time at ESPN, Van Natta worked at The New York Times from 1995 to 2011 covering counter-terrorism and intelligence, where he won two Pulitzer Prizes. He also worked at the Miami Herald from 1987 to 1995, where he won a Pulitzer for coverage of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

Van Natta’s extension also comes at a time when some observers have questioned ESPN’s commitment to investigative journalism, especially after the NFL took an equity stake in the network as part of the NFL Media deal approved earlier this year. However, a couple of recent moves seem to reaffirm ESPN’s commitment to investigative reporting, at least on some level. In addition to Van Natta’s extension, ESPN recently hired six former Washington Post reporters to join its enterprise and investigative team.

The move comes as ESPN reportedly weighs cost-cutting measures elsewhere, including potential on-air talent layoffs. The network is also exploring a lucrative extension for Pat McAfee.

Cuts to investigative journalism could still happen, of course, but the extension for Van Natta seems to show that ESPN still values the field.