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NASCAR’s biggest name is on the move.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is leaving NBC and heading to newcomers Amazon Prime Video and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, sources briefed on his decision said. The Athletic.
Earnhardt is expected to take this season off and then resume his television career in 2025, when WBD Sports and Amazon begin their coverage.
The move appears to give WBD Sports and Amazon instant credibility as they begin their series. Each will have five races per season. WBD Sports races will be broadcast on TNT, on Max and will have a Bleacher Report component. NASCAR complements WBD Sports’ robust NBA, NCAA Tournament, MLB and NHL programming schedule.
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Amazon Prime Video’s subscription service already features exclusive NFL games on Thursday nights and is a leading contender to add the NBA when the league decides on partners in its upcoming negotiations.
Earnhardt informed NBC of his decision last week, according to sources familiar with the conversations. While Earnhardt is expected to take the year off, he has the flexibility to strike another deal with one of the two broadcast partners, which are Fox and NBC. There are no substantive conversations at this time with either of them.
“Dale Earnhardt Jr. is beloved in the world of NASCAR and has made numerous contributions to NBC Sports, from his work as an analyst on our NASCAR coverage to his experiences as a correspondent at major events such as the Indianapolis 500, the Kentucky Derby , the Super Bowl and the Olympic Games,” an NBC Sports spokesperson said. The Athletic. “We thank Dale and wish him the best in the future.”
Earnhardt said on his podcast in early February that he hoped to remain at NBC, although he acknowledged that he is not under contract through 2024.
“I definitely love being in the broadcast booth and I want to keep doing it,” Earnhardt. he said on his podcast, “Dale Jr. Download”. “We have had great conversations with all of NASCAR’s television partners. My home and my love are NBC and I would love to return to them. So we’ll see where it goes.”
Earnhardt, 49, joined NBC in 2018, immediately after retiring from racing.
NASCAR changed four partners in its latest television deals, staying with incumbents NBC and Fox, who will continue to broadcast 14 races in 2025 along with WBD Sports and Amazon’s 10 combined. NASCAR’s overall deals are for seven years and are estimated at $7.7 billion in total. The current season remains exclusively on Fox and NBC.
In 2025, Amazon and WBD Sports will join the coverage and each will be based around Earnhardt.
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(Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)