Report: ESPN agrees to new deal with Mina Kimes

After some rumors of a potential bidding war this offseason, ESPN has reportedly inked long-time NFL analyst Mina Kimes to a new deal.

With her contract due to run out this year, the sports broadcasting giant reportedly signed the Around the Horn star to a deal that should keep her around through 2026-27, according to the New York Post, though the exact terms of the contract are still unknown.

The NFL Live analyst will now make roughly $1.7 million per year from ESPN, on top of earnings from her podcast, which she produces in partnership with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions.

The Yale grad began her journalism career as a business investigative reporter. ESPN hired her as a writer in 2014. And by 2020, the network promoted her to on-air NFL analyst.

ESPN underwent some major changes this offseason. As part of more than a dozen layoffs, several prominent faces of the network parted ways ahead of the 2023 season.

On the football side, the team suffered heavy losses. ESPN terminated Suzy Kolber and Steve Young, two hosts of Monday Night Countdown, the pre-game show for MNF. The network also let go of Keyshawn Johnson, an NFL analyst, and Todd McShay, ESPN’s long-time draft guru. David Pollack, who was part of the popular ESPN College Football GameDay traveling pre-game show, also lost his job.

Chris Mortensen announces step away from ESPN

Long-time NFL analyst Chris Mortensen announced on Tuesday that he decided to step away from ESPN this offseason after 33 years.

Mortensen, now 71 years old, shared that his choice to “step away” isn’t a “classic” retirement and that he intends to continue commenting on the sport.

“Excited about another season but it’s time to reveal after my 33rd NFL draft in April, I made a decision to step away from ESPN and focus on my health, family and faith,” Mortensen shared, via X. “The gratitude and humility is overwhelming. It’s not a classic retirement. I’ll still be here talking ball. It’s just time. God Bless you all.”

Mortensen began his career in journalism in 1969. He covered news, investigations, and of course, sports, before making his first appearance on the world leader in sports broadcasting, ESPN, in 1991. That year, he released a book titled, Playing for Keeps: How One Man Kept the Mob from Sinking Its Hooks into Pro Football.

In 2016, Mortensen had to take a leave of absence from his work with the network when he received a diagnosis of Stage 4 throat cancer.