Dan Patrick has not retired.
The former ESPN anchor and radio host has signed a new multi-year contract extension with NBC Sports and iHeartMedia that will keep his Dan Patrick Show running until the end of 2027 The Hollywood Reporter .
Patrick said on a radio show last week that he would retire in four years, prompting some speculation about his future.
“I did the reverse, I announced my retirement and then I announced my contract extension,” Patrick told THR on Monday afternoon. “It’s kind of like Elton John’s farewell tour and it’s been going on for years and I apologize for that.”
Patrick, former anchor of ESPN’s SportsCenter and host of the podcast of the same name for ESPN from 2007-2007, solo on 71, iHeartMedia’s Premiere Networks syndicates his shows nationwide. The following year, he joined NBC Sports as host of NFL Night .
His radio show began on 2007 on NBC’s Peacock Channel. As part of a new agreement with iHeartMedia and NBC Sports, Patrick will continue to host his daily show, which will also continue to simulcast on Peacock.
“It makes sense,” Patrick said. “I love the people here, I’m a habitual person, I’ve been at ESPN for many years, I’m allowed to do what I want. As a so called artist, I think we’re all trying to go after that, and with the freedom of Peacock and iHeart, I just think I have four and a half years left, and I think at least I hope so. That’s where I want to end my career.”
Patrick’s show was his previous The ESPN radio show Evolution, where he and his team (“Dennett”) discuss sports and pop culture. Patrick said that since adding simulcasts to Peacock, they’ve been trying to bring a “voyeuristic feel” to the show and make it look appealing as well.
“You carry around with you a loose blueprint every day of what you want to do and how you want to do it, but it never goes to script because it doesn’t have a script,” he said. “The parameters were free, fun, loose – I didn’t have a boss – and we were going to create content that sounded good on the radio and looked good on TV. It was a huge challenge and we had three hours to do it.”
As for what prompted his decision to announce his retirement four and a half years in advance?
“I just wanted people to know, rather than keep asking me, ‘What are you going to do and how long are you going to do it?’ I want to thank the people who worked with me to make this happen,” Patrick said. “I’ll 71, I’m probably the oldest guy in the genre. I just thought you know what? That would be a great career, I could decide for myself.”
