Report: Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaving NBC to join Amazon, Warner Bros. Discovery

Some major news arose Thursday morning in the world of NASCAR as legendary former driver and current broadcaster, Dale Earnhardt Jr., is reportedly leaving NBC to join Amazon and Warner Bros. Discovery.

That report came from Andrew Marchand on The Athletic, who wrote this blurb revealing Earnhardt’s big move:

“The biggest name in NASCAR is on the move. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is leaving NBC and heading to racing newcomers Amazon Prime Video and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, sources briefed on his decision told The Athletic.”

Marchand added that Earnhardt will take the Tom Brady approach, signing on this year while he won’t actually appear on telecasts until 2025, when Amazon/Warner first start broadcasting races.

“Earnhardt is expected to take this season off and then resume his broadcasting career in 2025 when WBD Sports and Amazon begin their coverage.”

Also in that report, Marchand points out that while Earnhardt is set to appear on Amazon/Warner broadcasts in 2025, he is still technically eligible to sign on with a NASCAR broadcasting for the rest of 2024 if he so wishes. However, all signs currently point to Earnhardt simply taking the season off.

“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 does own the flexibility to do another deal with one of the two 2024 broadcast partners, which are Fox and NBC. There are no substantial talks at this point with either.”

Seems particularly unlikely with NBC, since they’ve already put out a statement thanking Earnhardt for his time with the company. Per Marchard, here was that statement:

“Dale Earnhardt Jr. is beloved in the NASCAR world 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 like the Indianapolis 500, the Kentucky Derby, the Super Bowl and the Olympics. We thank Dale and we wish him the best going forward.”

Lastly, here’s a bit more on the future of NASCAR broadcasting:

“NASCAR moved to four partners in its latest TV contracts, remaining with incumbents NBC and Fox, who will continue to air 14 races in 2025 to go along with WBD Sports and Amazon’s combined 10. The overall NASCAR deals are for seven years and an estimated $7.7 billion dollars in total. The current season remains exclusively on Fox and NBC. In 2025, Amazon and WBD Sports will join the coverage and they each will build around Earnhardt.”