Jeff Passan named as candidate to replace Adrian Wojnarowski at ESPN

The sudden retirement of ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski has left many wondering who if anyone will succeed him in his role as the top NBA insider at the company. And on Saturday, reports emerged that suggest that the network may not have to look too far to find their choice.

Earlier this month, reports emerged shortly after Wojnarowski’s retirement that stated how ESPN may not hire a new NBA insider in his absence, which at the time seemed quite unusual considering how important of a figure Wojnarowski has become to the NBA.

Now, we may have an explanation for that report, as ESPN may have a replacement for Wojnarowski in mind currently within the company.

On Saturday, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported that ESPN MLB insider Jeff Passan is a candidate to potentially shift from MLB coverage to the NBA and replace Wojnarowski. The Athletic’s Shams Charania, who is also receiving attention from both Amazon and NBC as well, is also a reported candidate according to Marchand.

There are seemingly some factors that would make ESPN want to shift Passan over from MLB to NBA coverage.

ESPN’s current deal with the MLB, which includes their Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts, is set to expire after the 2028 MLB season. But both ESPN and the MLB have an opt-out clause after the 2025 season, which ESPN is reportedly “leaning toward” taking.

Meanwhile, ESPN and the NBA recently came to an agreement over the summer that continues their partnership for the next 11 seasons as a part of their new media rights deal.

Clearly, there seems to be a shift in focus at ESPN that is heavily focusing on NFL and NBA coverage as much as possible, seemingly planning to leave their MLB coverage largely in the rearview mirror.

There are still some obvious hurdles that are needed to have Passan shift over to NBA coverage on a full-time basis. In particular, Marchand reported that it is unclear whether Passan would even accept a potential sports shift.

But assuming that Passan would be interested in the role, he seems like a natural fit considering he is very well accustomed to the fast-paced environment that goes along with the life of an insider.

[The Athletic]