Legendary Sports Columnist Takes Buyout From Washington Post

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jul 30, 2025 5:15 PM ET

A longtime columnist in The Washington Post's sports section is off to greener pastures.

According to Ben Mullin of the New York Times, longtime sports columnist Sally Jenkins has accepted a buyout from the Washington Post and will be joining The Atlantic Monthly instead.

"I will so miss the sweat, the adventure, and the unruly carping and bitching that hides our bone-deep devotion to craft, and to this place," she wrote in a shared farewell email.

"I see the glimmer of a new Washington Post - one that moves. It has to be right-sized, and young trees planeted, but when the clocks all start chiming at the same time, it will be glorious. I believe that you should too.

"And I will be applauding you until my hands hurt."

news: legendary Washington Post sports columnist @SallyJenki is taking the buyout pic.twitter.com/S3FRxMyr2b
— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) July 30, 2025

Jenkins rose to prominence with Sports Illustrated in the 1990s before joining The Washington Post. Over her 20-plus years with WaPo, Jenkins wrote 12 books, four of which became New York Times bestsellers.

She wrote extensively about the late-great Pat Summitt and secured one of the final interviews with former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno prior to his death in 2012.

Jenkins also co-wrote not one, but two best-selling autobiographies with cycling icon Lance Armstrong, as well as an infamous column on the U.S. Center for SafeSport.

WASHINGTON - MAY 01: The logo for the Washington Post is displayed outside of its offices on May 1, 2009 in Washington, DC. The newspaper has announced its first quarter earnings with a net loss of $19.5 million. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Accolades have been heaped on Jenkins through the years, including the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Associated Press Sports Editors’ Red Smith Award for outstanding contributions in journalism in 2021.

Other honors she has achieved include the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 2000 and the Washington DC Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. She was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: