After a 2024 marked by nonstop staff movement, things still haven’t quieted down at The Athletic when it comes to talent departures.
The latest to exit the New York Times-owned outlet is Washington Commanders beat writer Ben Standig, who announced Monday on X that his contract would not be renewed after six years. It’s unclear whether The Athletic still plans to cover the Commanders on a full-time basis.
“I recently found out my contract would not be renewed. Not ideal,” Standig wrote. “Like the teams we cover, the bosses choose the roster. Regardless, I had a great six years at The Athletic. Truly. I was honored to work with some fantastic folks, headlined by the man who brought me into the fold, David Aldridge. I had bylines in the New York Times. That’s wild.”
A senior NFL voice with deep roots in the D.C. sports scene, Standig is a native Washingtonian who’d been covering sports in the DMV since 2005. A three-time winner of The Huddle Report’s mock draft contest, he indicated that he will continue hosting the Standig Room Only podcast and will remain on the Washington Commanders beat in some capacity, just not with The Athletic.
Standig’s departure marks another blow to local sports fans, as The Athletic continues its pivot away from beat-centered coverage. The Nationals lost their dedicated reporter when Brittany Ghiroli was bumped to a national MLB role. Two years ago, Andy Bitter was let go after The Athletic decided the Virginia Tech beat wasn’t worth keeping. Tarik El-Bashir left the Capitals beat. And now Standig is out on the Commanders.
All that’s left in the D.C. market is Josh Robbins on the Washington Wizards beat, and the occasional column from David Aldridge.
Earlier this year, The Athletic also parted ways with longtime soccer writer Pablo Maurer, despite the U.S. hosting the 2026 World Cup. In the Big Ten, Wisconsin beat writer Jesse Temple and Penn State’s Audrey Snyder both announced their exits earlier this year, as well, with Snyder saying the outlet “no longer wants to cover the team full-time.”
It’s a pattern we’ve seen too many times. The local beats dry up, the institutional knowledge walks, and The Athletic keeps peeling back the very thing it claimed to be building.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.