Report: ESPN finalizing multi-year deal with NFL insider Ian Rapoport

ESPN is finalizing a multi-year deal with NFL insider Ian Rapoport, per Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports. The four-letter-network recently finished its acquisition of NFL Network in an equity deal with the NFL earlier this year.

“ESPN is excited to have what the network feels are the two top league insiders in Rapoport and Adam Schefter under its umbrella, sources told FOS,” Glasspiegel wrote. “The plan is for Rapoport to appear across ESPN platforms and continue on NFL Network coverage.”

Rapoport joined NFL Network back in 2012 after a stint at the Boston Globe. Now he and Schefter, long considered the top two insiders in the league, will be under one umbrella.

ESPN sees the long-term vision as well with someone like Rapoport. While he and Schefter have gone head to head in scoops in the past, ESPN reportedly views him as a successor to “Schefty” down the line. The same goes for Daniel Jeremiah as the successor to long-time NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper Jr.

Schefter arrived at ESPN from NFL Network in 2009 and teamed up with the late Chris Mortensen to form a one-two punch of NFL insiders. When Mortensen stepped away, Schefter took over the role of lead insider, and Rapoport could follow suit, in a way, if the potential succession plan comes together.

Kiper, meanwhile, has been with ESPN since 1984 and is a pioneer of NFL Draft coverage. He will again be part of the ESPN panel later this month when the event heads to Pittsburgh, while Jeremiah will be on NFL Network’s coverage. The two networks have separate shows from the draft even after the merger.

Ian Rapoport inks deal with ESPN

Before breaking into the media space, Jeremiah played college football at Northeastern Louisiana and Appalachian State. He then worked as a scout for the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles from 2005-12. In May 2012, Jeremiah joined NFL Network and has become a prominent draft analyst.

ESPN announced the acquisition of NFL Network in August 2025, and the deal was finalized in January 2026. As part of the agreement, the NFL will take a 10% stake in ESPN, which will take control of NFL Network and other properties. The NFL will still own, operate and produce entities such as NFL RedZone, NFL Films and NFL.com, but ESPN will also take on a distribution role through its standalone DTC app.

The merger is already likely to impact ESPN’s No. 2 booth for Monday Night Football. According to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, NFL Network analyst Kurt Warner could be in the mix to join the new crew as ESPN is expected to move on from the three-man team of Chris Fowler, Dan Orlovsky and Louis Riddick.

Nick Schultz contributed to this report