The Athletic’s second annual “Golden Clickers” highlight the good, the bad and the monumental from sports media in 2025.
So, without further ado, the first envelope please …
Sports Media Person of the Year
Ernie Johnson, TNT Sports
In a “look at me” sports media environment that often rewards whoever can scream the loudest, TNT Sports’ Johnson continuously stands out for his elegant, low-key skills. While Charles Barkley, the greatest sports studio analyst of all-time, is the No. 1 reason that “Inside the NBA” is a historic show, Johnson is second.
As the program was sublicensed from TNT Sports to ESPN, there was no free-agent talk from Johnson, no swearing on-air, no nothing … just class. Johnson is the one who has made the move to ESPN’s air seamless.
Last year, Caitlin Clark, at 22 years old, won the Golden Clicker Sports Media Person of the Year, arguably the greatest accolade during her rise. The award stays in the basketball community with Johnson, 69, taking it home this year.
Dealmakers of the Year
Mark Shapiro and Ari Emanuel, TKO/Endeavor
The combo of the sport, the relationships and the timing produced the Golden Clicker Deal of the Year – the incredible seven-year, $7.7 billion deal that the TKO/Endeavor trio of Shapiro, Emanuel and Dana White struck with Paramount/CBS for the rights to UFC, acquiring it away from ESPN. UFC had built itself to be in position for a big deal, while the trio waited for David Ellison to close the Paramount deal in August that allowed Shapiro, Emanuel and White to utilize their connections to strike the agreement.
The money was one thing, and the distribution was another, as some major events will be on CBS, while the rest will air as a foundational sports piece of Paramount+. Plus, instead of paying individual pay-per-view fees on top of the monthly ESPN+ fee, fight fans can just pay around $60 per year for Paramount+ and get all-you-can-eat UFC event viewing. Win. Win. Win.
As a pretty good appetizer, Shapiro and Emanuel, along with WWE president Nick Khan, picked up $325 million per year from ESPN for the rights to WWE’s monthly premiere live events, including WrestleMania.
‘Mover & Shaker’ of the Year
Elle Duncan, Netflix
Netflix found the face of its network in Duncan. After nearly a decade at ESPN, Duncan moved on in a mega-deal that will see her become the lead voice on Netflix’s live sports coverage, which includes MLB, NFL, Women’s World Cup and undoubtedly more to come. Of all the on-air transactions of 2025, it was the most significant, as it signified Netflix’s further evolution into sports and is the first time a major sports platform has chosen a woman as the No. 1 personality of its enterprise.
‘On the Way Up’ Award
J.J. Watt, CBS
Watt has been tremendous and keeps getting better in his first year as a CBS game analyst. On the network’s No. 2 NFL team with Ian Eagle, they are consistently an informative, entertaining and humorous combo. It is easy to imagine Watt and Eagle being a No. 1 NFL booth in the future.
‘On the Way Down’ Award
Tony Romo, CBS
CBS’ No. 1 game analyst, Romo, continues to go the wrong direction. Romo comes across unprepared most weeks, rarely telling fans about nuances they can’t see and failing to have real chemistry with his partner Jim Nantz. Romo would have been considered “on the way up” or even a “Sports Person of the Year” candidate a few years ago, but nowadays, he and Nantz produce a pedestrian broadcast.
Quote of the Year
Rob Manfred, MLB commissioner
After ESPN opted out of its MLB deal in late February, Manfred sent a memo to his 30 owners calling the network a “shrinking platform.”
The memo, obtained by The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, would be the sports media quote of the year, as it was totally uncalled-for and, ultimately, foolish-sounding.
It was slightly comical eight months later when MLB announced its partners in deals for the opt-out assets (“Sunday Night Baseball,” Home Run Derby and the first round of the playoffs) and more. They were Netflix, NBC/Peacock … and ESPN.
Story of the Year
Sports streaming wars
Amazon Prime Video joined the sports bidding wars years ago, but now Netflix and YouTube have formed a digital “Big 3,” stalking the traditional players, like ESPN, Fox, NBC and CBS. Meanwhile, ESPN launched its direct-to-consumer offering, which was positioned as a big deal, but was really just another extension of its motto to serve sports fans everywhere.
Plus, ESPN and the NFL agreed to a deal that will bring the NFL Network and other premium assets to ESPN in exchange for the NFL gaining a 10 percent equity stake in ESPN, if the government allows the deal to go through. On top of all this, with Ellison, Paramount/CBS is suddenly a spending behemoth.
‘Securing the Bag’ Award
Stephen A. Smith, ESPN
Smith may be polarizing. He may be this. He may be that. Everyone has an opinion about the man with a million opinions.
But here is one indisputable fact about him: What he has achieved in compensation for a longtime sports media figure, and now nascent political commentator, is nothing short of incredible.
As The Athletic reported, Smith is making $21 million per year from ESPN and $12 million per year from SiriusXM. He also has a revenue share on his sports and politics podcasts with SiriusXM, which means he will approach or surpass $40 million a year. Quite frankly, it is an astounding number.
Rivalry of the Year
Fox vs. ESPN
ESPN’s “College GameDay” vs. Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff “is becoming the Michigan-Ohio State of television as the two sides vie for Saturday morning sports supremacy.
ESPN’s GameDay remains the clear leader by the numbers — and with the jolt of Pat McAfee’s energy and Nick Saban’s acumen — but Fox Sports is always working, trying to upend it. Fox recruited GameDay host Rece Davis … and nearly succeeded.
Davis stayed, but Fox added Dave Portnoy and Dan Katz from Barstool Sports. Like McAfee, these moves are divisive, but Portnoy, Katz and the rest of the Barstool crew brought an energy to BNK. ESPN still reigns on Saturday mornings, but it is a win for Fox that there is an actual rivalry.
‘We Barely Knew Ya’ Award
Venu Sports
Remember Venu Sports, the sports-only subscription streaming confab between ESPN, Fox Sports and TNT Sports? The triple play was first announced during the 2024 Super Bowl week to a lot of publicity. Well, it officially went kaput early in 2025, as ESPN fully focused on its own direct-to-consumer platform. It will only be a memory in our streams.
Fight of the Year
Google vs. Disney
The YouTubeTV-ESPN two-week battle was an epic fight from two generally unsympathetic conglomerates, Google and Disney. The Googlers and the Mouseketeers kept Disney programming, most prominently ESPN, away from YouTube TV’s 10 million subscribers. YouTube TV seemed to have won the PR battle, with the lesson that people love a great user interface.
Free-agent Signing of the Year
Peter Schrager, ESPN
Schrager is exactly what ESPN should be looking for — informed, relaxed on TV and, maybe most importantly, genuinely loves sports. It was easy to see Schrager transitioning smoothly from NFL Network to ESPN. The next question is: Does he become one of the leading players on his own show? He is in the mix for a potential 2 p.m or 5 p.m. weekday show, although Scott Van Pelt is considered the leading candidate at 5.
Lifetime Achievement
Lee Corso, ESPN
You think of all-time ESPN personalities, and you have people like Chris Berman, Dick Vitale and Stuart Scott. Lee Corso is on that list.
Corso’s joy for college football, TV and being part of one of the all-time great studio shows, “College GameDay,” came to an end this year.
For years and years, there was talk that this could be it for Corso. He consistently responded, “Not so fast.” But this year, at 90, he said goodbye to GameDay as a beloved sports TV legend.
