MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Accuses ESPN Of Disrespect

“I mean, there were leaks going back a year. It’s unfortunate that was the mode of communication. But, you know, eventually it got to the point where they told us what they were thinking. But we had been reading leaks for over a year before that phone call took place. That’s unfortunate, it did not help the conversations. Look, there was a level of dissatisfaction on our part."

Manfred explained that his displeasure with ESPN began in earnest when "Baseball Tonight" was reduced to a once-weekly pregame show for "Sunday Night Baseball."

“I think if you watch ESPN, and I do, where we appear on 'SportsCenter' in the morning, there were issues there too. You know, there was a level of dissatisfaction," the commissioner said.

"Look, I said this publicly because I said it to them. They stepped up for the NBA. They stepped up for football. And to come back to us and say we want to cut you… We felt like we were being treated disrespectfully."

Manfred mentioned that MLB does well with certain audiences, and that they provided a material benefit to ESPN that they will no longer be able to take advantage of by opting out of the deal.

"Particularly if you listen to their own rhetoric when they are marketing baseball. We are up for them," Manfred said.

"We were up on 18 to 34 (year olds); we deliver a nice Hispanic audience. We do a great job in terms of gender breakdown. So like I said, it was an unfortunate thing. They were a great, great partner.”

ESPN leadership has indicated that it would be open to "re-engaging" on terms with the league, but for now it appears that 2025 will be the final season of Major League Baseball on ESPN.