Not since Al Michaels was traded for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit has there been such a major trade in sports media.
Granted, it was not necessarily a trade. However, the move of Dan Patrick from ESPN to Sports Illustrated and of Rick Reilly from Sports Illustrated to ESPN certainly seems like the sports media equivalent of a major trade deadline deal.
The day after Patrick, who left ESPN in August, announced he would begin writing for Sports Illustrated in January, news broke that Reilly — with SI since 1985 — would be leaving the publication once his contract expires at the end of next month. Immediately, speculation arose that Reilly would move to ESPN, and today it became official.
Reilly will join ESPN, writing the back page column for ESPN the Magazine. Reilly “will also be an essayist for SportsCenter, as well as a contributor for the network’s coverage of major golf events” including recently acquired coverage of The Masters. Reilly will begin his ESPN the Magazine column in June; because ESPN the Magazine is bi-weekly, his column will be featured on ESPN.com during the weeks when the magazine is not published.
Reilly, who once hosted an edition of ESPNews while with Sports Illustrated, is enthusiastic about the change of scenery. “For a guy who loves sports, ESPN is the ultimate. … I’m thrilled with the opportunity to speak to a whole new audience in a whole new way.”
