MLB Commissioner: ESPN media rights deal coming to end after 2025 season

February 21, 2025

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MLB Commissioner: ESPN media rights deal coming to end after 2025 season

ESPN and Major League Baseball (MLB) are parting ways at the end of the 2025 regular season, bringing an end to their long-standing media rights partnership. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred explained the reasoning behind the decision in a letter to league owners, expressing disappointment with the lack of coverage MLB received on ESPN’s platforms in recent years.

Despite ESPN’s agreement to pay the league $550 million annually for the next three years, both parties agreed to opt out of the deal by the March 1 deadline. Manfred stated that MLB did not want to accept a smaller deal to remain on a platform that was shrinking in reach. Instead, the league is looking to explore new broadcast and streaming options for its marquee games, including regular season matchups, the Home Run Derby, and the Wild Card playoff round.

While ESPN will retain rights to “Sunday Night Baseball,” wild-card postseason games, and other partnership details through the 2025 season, both MLB and the network are open to negotiating a new deal. ESPN has presented national and regional programming ideas for MLB to consider, but discussions are ongoing regarding the financial terms.

Manfred pointed out that ESPN had approached MLB about reducing the annual payment, citing lower fees paid by other platforms like Apple and Roku for game rights. However, he emphasized the exclusive nature of the ESPN deal, which includes prime-time slots for regular season games, playoff rounds, and popular events like the Home Run Derby.

If a revised agreement with ESPN cannot be reached, MLB will explore other potential partners for its media rights. The league is committed to finding the best platform to reach fans and maximize exposure for its games. As negotiations continue, the future of MLB broadcasting remains uncertain, but both MLB and ESPN are dedicated to finding a solution that benefits all parties involved.

See also Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s tough Bronx persona is under fresh scrutiny with a resurfaced childhood nickname from her suburban upstate New York upbringing casting doubt on that publicly portrayed image. The progressive champion’s latest spat with President Donald Trump over the Iran strikes again called into question her true upbringing when she declared on X she was a “Bronx girl" to make her a point against the president. The 35-year-old congresswoman wrote in part on X: "I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully," she said, referring to the president’s upbringing in Queens as she called for his impeachment over his decision to bypass Congress in authorizing U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx but moved to Yorktown – which is nearly an hour outside New York City -- when she was 5 years old and went on to attend Yorktown High School where she graduated in 2007. She was considered an accomplished student there and well thought of by teacher Michael Blueglass, according to a 2018 report by local media outlet Halston Media News. “There, known by students and staff as ‘Sandy,’ she was a member of the Science Research Program taught by Michael Blueglass," the report states. “She was amazing," Blueglass said, per the report. “Aside from her winning one of the top spots and going to the [Intel International Science and Engineering Fair], she was just one of the most amazing presenters in all of the years I've been at Yorktown. Her ability to take complex information and explain it to all different levels of people was fantastic." After high school, Ocasio-Cortez attended Boston University, where she majored in economics and international relations, per the report. Ocasio-Cortez’s “Sandy" nickname — which carries a more suburban and preppy tone — appears to undercut her politically crafted image as a tough, inner-city fighter, one she has portrayed since her famous 2018 congressional campaign where she eventually ousted former 10-terms Congressman Joe Crowley. New York GOP Assemblyman Matt Slater, who now represents Yorktown, added to the scrutiny of Ocasio-Cortez’s persona in the wake of her brash with Trump and released images of Ocasio-Cortez from his high school yearbook. He claimed he and the rising Democratic star attended Yorktown High School at the same time when she was a freshman and he was a senior. "I saw the attacks on the president and her [Ocasio-Cortez] claims that she's a big, tough Bronx girl," said Slater. "To sit there and say that she’s a Bronx girl is just patently ridiculous." "Everybody in our community knows this is just a bold-face lie," said Slater on "Fox & Friends First" last week. "She grew up in Yorktown, she was on my track team." "She's lying about her background, she's lying about her upbringing," Slater claimed. Slater’s post sent social media ablaze and prompted Ocasio-Cortez to respond after an image if her family’s home was posted online. “I’m proud of how I grew up and talk about it all the time," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X Friday responding to the post. “My mom cleaned houses and I helped. We cleaned tutors’ homes in exchange for SAT prep." “Growing up between the Bronx and Yorktown deeply shaped my views of inequality & it’s a big reason I believe the things I do today!"