Jeff Darlington became a star at ESPN last year with his live coverage of Scottie Scheffler’s stunning arrest at the PGA Championship. That could play heavily into his next contract, which is approaching soon.
Darlington joined ESPN in 2016 with a focus on the NFL, but some of his most important work has come while recently adding golf coverage to his portfolio. This includes last year in Louisville, where he was on the scene when Scheffler was stopped and arrested by police outside of Valhalla Golf Club. His reporting received praise from pretty much every corner of the sports media throughout the saga.
Now, Michael McCarthy at Front Office Sports reports that Jeff Darlington, whose ESPN contract is set to expire soon, could hit the open market later this summer.
ESPN has a big decision to make with star reporter Jeff Darlington.
The Emmy Award–winning journalist was Johnny On the Spot during the high-profile arrests of Scottie Scheffler and Tyreek Hill in 2024. But Darlington’s current contract expires late this summer, sources tell Front Office Sports. It remains to be seen if the 43-year-old NFL/golf reporter will test the free agency waters.
ESPN added golf to Darlington’s NFL coverage duties in 2024. The network immediately hit the jackpot. He earned praise inside and outside the industry for his daring coverage of Scottie Scheffler’s arrest outside the 2024 PGA Championship last May.
ESPN has shown that it has gone in two different directions when it comes to talent. It has moved quickly and assertively to lock up big names, whether its own or free agents like Stephen A. Smith, Pat McAfee, and Jason Kelce. ESPN just made a big splash by hiring Peter Schrager for cross-platform coverage of the NFL.
However, at the same time, they have cut costs by laying off several talents who looked like they would be mainstays at the network for years to come, such as Robert Griffin III, Sam Ponder, and Zach Lowe, just to name a few.
The question for Bristol is which category Jeff Darlington falls in. Given his work in the NFL and golf, he has proven himself to be a unique talent. And with ESPN’s investment in both sports, given the high profile of the majors and how dedicated ESPN is to the NFL, Darlington’s work would seem to be a perfect fit. He is a terrific reporter, and if he doesn’t stay with ESPN, his services would certainly have other networks that cover either sport interested.