Jeff Passan emerges as candidate to replace Adrian Wojnarowski in potential ESPN stunner

ESPN’s replacement for Adrian Wojnarowski could come from within.

From within the network’s baseball department, that is.

Jeff Passan, ESPN’s top MLB insider, has emerged as a candidate to switch over and become the network’s top NBA insider, according to The Athletic.

He joined ESPN in 2019 after working for Yahoo Sports and makes around $1 million per year, per the report.

Wojnarowski, long the top newsbreaker in NBA media, stunningly retired from his ESPN career earlier this month to become the general manager of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team.

He walked away from roughly $20 million, the outlet reported.

“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,” Wojnarowski wrote on X when he announced his decision. “Thirty-seven years ago, the Hartford Courant gave 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.”

Passan gave him a heartwarming tribute at the time.

“I’ve been fortunate to spend more than 20 years in this business working with reams of talented people,” Passan wrote on X. “Adrian Wojnarowski is the best. Period. A peerless reporter. A gifted wordsmith. A storyteller nonpareil. He is Jim Brown and Barry Sanders, leaving at the apex of his game.”

The Athletic’s Shams Charania also remains a top candidate for the job, The Athletic added.