The idea of Peter King not writing for Sports Illustrated is a weird one. So when King openly speculated that he might be interested in spreading his wings and flying elsewhere, maybe to do baseball or politics or something else, the sports media took notice. Alas, that won’t be happening as King is staying at the place that he helped build.
CNN’s Brian Stelter reports that King will be signing a multi-year contract extension with Sports Illustrated:
With his contract coming due at the end of the month, Peter King flirted with leaving Sports Illustrated, his writing home since 1989.
But King, one of the best known NFL reporters in America, decided to stay put. On Tuesday, Time Inc.’s Sports Illustrated Group will formally announce a multi-year extension of his contract.
King will continue to write his Monday Morning Quarterback column and lead The MMQB, the web site he launched with SI in 2013.
King, who has publicly speculated about a job shift before, said he “thought seriously about it” this time around.
He mused about joining NBC full time (he appears on the network’s Sunday night football coverage) and even about leaving the football beat to cover an election.
But ultimately, he said in an interview with CNNMoney, “I am so bullish on the future of an independent site covering football with room to grow. And the backing of Time Inc. (TIME) was really important, because the company has committed to expanding The MMQB with quality hires. That was significant.”
King also says he’s interested in adding more talent to write for The MMQB as the increased presence of dedicated sports verticals continues to be a trend in mainstream sports media.
While King may have wanted to scratch an itch to try new possibilities, it’s hard to imagine him working and writing anywhere else. The past couple years there have been some notable instances where King’s work and his relationships with those inside the NFL have been called into question. Nevertheless, there’s no denying King’s power, influence, and following as one of the leading NFL insiders covering the country’s most popular league. He’s perhaps more synonymous with Sports Illustrated than any one person is with another media company. This new extension makes sure it will stay that way for some time to come.
[CNN]
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