Do the Mets and Jets get too much media coverage?

Doug Gottlieb may be a college basketball head coach now, but he’s been in sports media long enough to realize that New York is the center of the country’s media market. But that didn’t stop him from wondering aloud Sunday why the New York Mets and Jets frequently get as much coverage as they do.

My belief is that the Jets & Mets get way too much coverage because there are a high percentage of media folk who are from LI and grew up rooting for both, likely going to Syracuse

— Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) October 21, 2024

It’s an absurd point to make while the Mets were playing in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series and the Jets on Sunday Night Football. Obviously, the former — one of the three remaining teams in the playoffs at this point — will get coverage.

Regardless of how you feel about the Mets, their magical season, in which they went from 0-5 to 24-35 to two wins away from their first World Series appearance in nearly a decade, was fun to follow. They became a media darling as they collected new gimmicks like Infinity Stones. Despite having the largest payroll (third active) in Major League Baseball, they somehow became an underdog story.

So, like it or not, the Mets will get coverage.

Gottlieb pointed out in the replies that the Mets have received similar coverage in down years. And he’s right, but the Mets have been lovable losers and always find a way to make headlines during a down season. It’s part of their charm, and perhaps it wouldn’t happen if they were the Detroit Tigers or Pittsburgh Pirates, but they also play in one of—if not the most extensive—media markets in the country.

Notice how Gottlieb didn’t ask about the Knicks, who receive similar coverage despite not having accomplished much pre-Jalen Brunson. Of course, there’s the Carmelo Anthony era, but the Mets also made the playoffs in 2015 and 2016. So, there are some smatterings of success, but truly, the Amazins are at the center of the sports media universe and will be covered immensely despite not having the proper credentials that Gottlieb is perhaps searching for.

Now, as for the Jets, well, they’re the Jets.

Like their -ets counterparts, the New York Jets find a way to make headlines in seasons where Josh McCown was the starting quarterback. Since the Obama administration, they’ve been a dysfunctional mess and find new ways to lose each and every week. Again, it’s part of the charm, so to speak, and the National Football League often leans into this, but it’s been careful not to have the Jets in primetime football when the occasion (and roster) doesn’t call for it.

But whether you love or hate him, people will tune in to watch Aaron Rodgers. That experience hasn’t exactly gone the way the NFL would’ve hoped in his first two seasons, and the league has gotten what it’s asked for by making the Jets its media darlings of 2023 (and ’24). Not precisely, but in tempting fate with Rodgers for a second consecutive season, the NFL doubled down on a gamble that hasn’t paid off.

Rodgers’ season-ending injury was a disaster for the Jets and a letdown for the league, which had banked on him being a prime-time draw. Instead of the star-powered storylines they envisioned, they’re stuck with the same old Jets drama.

Sure, some argue that ESPN and other morning shows have an unfair bias toward the Jets. This claim gained traction after New York’s 37-15 loss to Pittsburgh, which was heavily covered on shows like Get Up. This is also the same sports media that tried to will Davante Adams to join the Jets even before it happened.

So, it’s not all that moot of a point.

While Gottlieb’s question of the media’s focus on New York teams is not entirely baseless, the Jets and Mets are fixtures in the largest media market, and their ability to generate headlines—whether through success or dysfunction—is unmatched. And it has nothing to do with how many Long Island residents attend the Newhouse School at Syracuse.

It might not always feel justified, but as long as they’re part of the New York sports ecosystem, they’ll always have the spotlight, whether they’ve earned it or not.

[Doug Gottlieb]