Matthew Berry left ESPN in 2022, in part, because the company was not open to employees operating their own media companies. Berry then joined NBC, where he appeared on “Football Night in America” while building his own fantasy football company on the outside.
Berry has since departed NBC to focus on Fantasy Life, his independently owned media company on pace to generate eight figures in revenue this year.
ESPN has since changed its philosophy. Management is now open to partnering with talent who retain ownership of their content.
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Berry spoke to OutKick this week on video about his career, business, and future. During the discussion, we asked whether he had talked to ESPN about a potential return in recent months.
“Yes,” Berry responded without hesitation.
“I have [talked to ESPN],” he continued. “When you leave and go out on your own, you look at [Pat McAfee] as the great model. ESPN specifically has done it with some people [in that the talent either license their show to ESPN or can retain ownership of a media brand outside of the network].”
In addition to McAfee, Berry cited other unique agreements ESPN has made recently.
“Rich Eisen brought his show over [to ESPN] on a licensing agreement. They have other talent where they do not necessarily license the show, but they allow them to have outside businesses. You think about Bussin’ With The Boys or Josh Pate.”
As Pate exclusively told OutKick, he and Bussin’ With The Boys co-hosts Will Compton and Taylor Lewan will host a new college football show on ESPN each Friday this season. Their podcast will remain separate.
“I’ll be honest,” Berry added. “I have a very good relationship with Jimmy Pitaro and Burke Magnus. I have remained friendly with them over the years since I left.”
Berry cautioned that, while the talks have been positive, “no deal is imminent” with ESPN.
Frankly, it would have been surprising if Berry and ESPN had not discussed a partnership. Berry’s digital content ranks among the most popular in sports media. During football season, his podcast downloads are on par with Barstool’s “Pardon My Take” and “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”
He is an ideal fit for ESPN’s current strategy of teaming with the top digital creators in sports, with McAfee as the most notable example.
For the same reasons, we suspect Berry is also having conversations with Amazon, Netflix, Paramount, and various gambling providers about amplifying Fantasy Life.
Later in the interview, Berry said he will not take home as much money this year as he did in salary at ESPN. However, he expects to exceed his television salary by the third year.
Watch Berry’s full interview with OutKick on YouTube here or below:
