Sally Jenkins takes buyout from Washington Post, joins The Atlantic

While departures from the Washington Post have become commonplace in recent days amid buyout offers, the newspaper now finds itself without one of its signature voices. According to New York Times media reporter Ben Mullin, legendary sports columnist Sally Jenkins has accepted a buyout from the publication. In a letter obtained by Mullin, Jenkins announced that she is joining The Atlantic Monthly.

news: legendary Washington Post sports columnist @SallyJenki is taking the buyout pic.twitter.com/S3FRxMyr2b

— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) July 30, 2025

The daughter of legendary Sports Illustrated sportswriter Dan Jenkins, Sally Jenkins had been with the Washington Post since 2000, in what marked her second stint with the newspaper following her own run at Sports Illustrated in the 1990s. Over the course of her career, the Stanford alum has authored 12 books, including four New York Times bestsellers and was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize.

Widely considered one of the best sports columnists of her era, Jenkins has earned recognition for her ability to connect sports to larger topics in society and coverage of polarizing and controversial subjects such as Lance Armstrong and Joe Paterno. She was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and was the 2021 recipient of the Associated Press Sports Editors’ Red Smith Award for outstanding contributions in journalism.

While Jenkins’ departure from the Washington Post is certainly seismic, it’s also not necessarily surprising as several reporters and columnists across the paper have accepted buyouts from the Jeff Bezos-owned publication in recent days. Last week saw longtime sportswriter Dan Steinberg leave the Washington Post to become the NFL managing editor at The Athletic, while Washington Commanders beat writer Nicki Jhabvala made the same jump earlier this week.

At The Atlantic, one would imagine Jenkins will continue her sportswriting with a continued emphasis on the intersection of sports and society. In the letter obtained by Mullin, she expressed excitement for the opportunity, writing, “… I am not leaving out of unhappiness. I’m leaving for an opportunity — the only other job I ever coveted in this world, at The Atlantic Monthly. I have a weakness for literary pursuits, and it got me.”