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Alex Rodriguez has reportedly signed a new contract extension with Fox Sports that will see the former MLB slugger leave his other broadcasting gig with ESPN.
Rodriguez’s reported extension with Fox is expected to be for at least three years and “the most lucrative deal yet for an MLB analyst,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. A-Rod joined Fox Sports as a full-time baseball analyst in 2017 after working playoff games for the network since 2015.
The reported exclusive nature of Rodriguez’s new deal means that the current MLB season will be his last at ESPN, where he co-hosts the network’s “KayRod” alternate Sunday Night Baseball broadcast alongside Michael Kay. Rodriguez has been on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball team since 2018.
Rodriguez’s departure from ESPN would come after the network laid off some 20 on-air personalities in June, including many basketball and football-focused talents such as Jeff Van Gundy, Jalen Rose, Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson, Steve Young, and Suzie Kolber, among others. ESPN is also not renewing the contracts of notable talents Bomani Jones, Rob Ninkovich, Neil Everett, Chris Chelios, and Vince Carter.
At Fox, Rodriguez will continue working MLB studio coverage with Kevin Burkhardt and fellow retired MLB stars David Ortiz and Derek Jeter, who is new to FOX this year. Another splash from the network will come with Tom Brady’s NFL coverage debut in 2024.
“I’ve really had a lot of fun and success with the Fox studio. I think we have an incredible team,” Rodriguez told FOS in 2022. “The continuity is great. We know exactly who we are. It’s a little bit what they’ve done with NFL football, with Howie Long and Terry Bradshaw. But I think the “KayRod” is an example of where baseball and sports could move — especially baseball, because you have sometimes up to four hours to fill.”
A-rod is also co-owner of the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves, and a report emerged in May that he was seeking to launch a huge buyout fund to buy stakes in other sports teams.
