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ESPN is reportedly targeting the Athletic's Shams Charania as the replacement for his retiring former mentor Adrian Wojnarowski as the network's senior NBA insider, which coincides with his free agency, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to Complex on Wednesday (September 18).
Charania, 30, is expected to be pursued by both ESPN and NBC -- which recently reacquired NBA broadcasting rights -- when his current deal with the Athletic and FanDuelTV expires later this month. Charania is expected to negotiate for similar terms to Wojnarowski's ESPN deal, which is rumored to have paid out at least $7 million annually.
Charania previously worked under and eventually replaced Wojnarowski, 55, as Yahoo Sports' lead NBA insider upon the latter's departure to ESPN in 2017, at which point he emerged as the veteran journalist's strongest competition for breaking NBA news.
Wojnarowski announced his sudden retirement from the news industry in a statement shared on his X account Wednesday.
I grew up the son of a factory worker two miles from ESPN's campus and only ever dreamed of making a living as a sportswriter/ Thirty-seven years ago, the Hartford Courant game me my first byline and I never stopped chasing the thrill of it all.
This craft transformed my life, but I've decided to retire from ESPN and the news industry. I understand the commitment required in my role and it's an investment that I'm no longer driven to make. Time isn't in endless supply and I want to spend mine in ways that are more personally meaningful.
I leave with overwhelming gratitude for countless mentors and colleagues, subjects and stories, readers and viewers. No one has benefitted more than me from the belief, trust and generosity of others.
The past seven years at ESPN have been a particular privilege. I'm appreciative of the company's leadership - especially Jimmy Pitaro and Cristina Daglas - for the understanding and acceptance of my decision to make a life change.
After all these years of reporting on everyone's teams, I'm headed back to my own.
Wojnarowski told his fellow ESPN insiders Pete Thamel (college football), Jeff Passan (MLB) and Adam Schefter (NFL) that he's accepted a job as the general manager of the men's basketball program at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, having previously worked closely with the school in recent years.
"It is a thrill of a lifetime to be able to return to a university and community that I love in a role of service to our student-athletes, coaches and institution," Wojnarowski told ESPN. "I am hopeful that I can bring value in a lot of areas to our basketball program and open doors for our young men's futures in ways both professionally and personally."
Wojnarowski joined ESPN as a senior NBA insider in July 2017, having previously spent nearly a decade at Yahoo Sports, which included two as the editor of The Vertical, as well as nearly 10 years at The Record, several at The Fresno Bee and The Waterbury Republican-American. The veteran journalist is reportedly "walking away from around $20 million," according to the Athletic's Andrew Marchand.