After a weeks-long search, ESPN finally found its replacement for longtime NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski. You might be familiar with some of his work.
Shams Charania is heading to ESPN to serve as the network’s lead NBA insider, he announced on X — the website formerly known as Twitter — on Monday afternoon.
Charania previously served at The Athletic, Stadium and Yahoo Sports. The Chicago native was Wojnarowski’s understudy while at Yahoo Sports. As the years wore on, the two became adversaries, competing with one another to see who could produce the bigger news drops.
Charania beat out a host of candidates, including fellow ESPN stars Jeff Passan and Adam Schefter, to receive the gig. Here’s what you need to know.
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Why did Shams Charania leave The Athletic for ESPN?
Charania’s decision to join the Worldwide Leader in Sports was all about timing. His contracts with The Athletic and FanDuel TV were nearing their expiration, making him among the hottest commodities in sports media.
NBC Sports and Prime Video were among the other platforms interested in securing Charania’s services. In the end, ESPN’s pursuit was impossible to pass up.
ESPNer Pat McAfee was among Charania’s biggest advocates, per Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy. McAfee publicly endorsed Charania’s candidacy for Wojnarowski’s job on his show. Charania is a regular guest on the program.
“Shams Charania’s the answer. I know there’s conversations happening. … But if you take our bias out of this conversation, there’s only one answer. It’s Shams Charania,” McAfee said.
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Adrian Wojnarowski reacts to Shams Charania filling his job at ESPN
Former NBA insider Wojnarowski hopped on Jim Rome’s show and broke the silence on Charania filling his job at ESPN for the first time.
“Shams texted me after I announced my retirement. What I told him is what I’ll say today. I hope he has as fulfilling and as rewarding of a career as I’ve had. I certainly wish that for him,” Wojnarowski said.
“He’s right about the incredible group of colleagues that he’s going to find at ESPN. The best of the best. Incredible reporters, on-air talent,” Wojnarowski mentioned, referencing Charania’s announcement post.
“For me, that was always the best part of working at ESPN: the colleagues who elevate you. You’re around the best of the best. That was true on the NBA, and that was true being around [Adam] Schefter, [Pete] Thamel and [Jeff] Passan and those guys.
“I wish [Shams] the best and he’s got a great team around him at ESPN. I miss those guys already,” Wojnarowski concluded.
Shams Charania net worth
It’s unclear quite how much money Charania is worth at this point in his career. He reportedly fetched between $3 million and $4 million annually during his time with The Athletic, Stadium and FanDuel, per Front Office Sports.
Wojnarowski, meanwhile, reportedly earned $7 million a season with ESPN, per the Los Angeles Times.
Wojnarowski is believed to have left around $20 million on the table when he decided to retire from the industry and return to St. Bonaventure as the men’s basketball team’s general manager.
Charania’s new deal very well could have fallen somewhere between those two figures, although it hasn’t yet been revealed.
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Shams Charania age
Born on April 1, 1994, Charania is 30 years old.
With his hire, Charania becomes ESPN’s youngest-ever “lead news-breaker,” per Sports Business Journal.