Dan Patrick Is Still At The Top Of Sports Media As His Retirement Nears

Few figures in broadcasting go out on their own terms. Most are pushed out, whether by age, scandal, or an inability to adapt to ever-changing times. Dan Patrick is one of the few who will.

Patrick plans to retire from sports broadcasting after Super Bowl LXII in 2028. That’s less than two years away. Yet even in the hyper-saturated, cluttered media landscape of 2026, he remains one of the most popular hosts.

Last week, the sports calendar featured NFL free agency, college basketball conference tournaments, The Players Championship, the World Baseball Classic, and the usual NBA and NHL slate. According to Apple Podcasts, "The Dan Patrick Show" spent most of that stretch as the fifth most popular sports podcast.

We understand podcast rankings can be fluky and often favor new releases. However, Patrick’s show is neither new nor even a traditional podcast. It’s a daily radio show repackaged as a podcast. It’s also nearly 20-years-old. Whatever boost Apple gives newer titles, "The Dan Patrick Show" isn’t likely to receive it in 2026.

And it didn’t take a strong week on the charts to confirm Patrick’s standing. In February, "The Dan Patrick Show" ranked No. 1 on Barrett Media’s Top 20 National Sports Radio Shows of 2025, as it has for most of the past decade. The voting panel included radio professionals, along with 43 program directors and corporate executives from top broadcasting companies.

No one has navigated the shift to a multimedia marketplace better than Patrick, a notable statement considering for someone who built their reputation as a traditional anchor on "SportsCenter." 

Patrick was ahead of the curve. He left ESPN in 2007 to focus on syndication. Within a year, his show was distributed by Premiere Networks on radio and simulcast live on DirecTV’s Audience Network. He later added a podcast component through PodcastOne. Three revenue streams, one show.

Today, his show airs on more than 371 affiliates nationwide through iHeart’s Fox Sports Radio. It simulcasts on Peacock in video form. He also monetizes the brand through podcasting, YouTube, X, Facebook, and more.

What stands out most is how much the industry has changed over the course of Patrick's career but how little he has. Through all the shifts in distribution and audience habits, Patrick never caved. He never leaned into hot takes, race-baiting, or political commentary the way so many others did.

Patrick never needed cheap heat to stay relevant. He built a lasting connection with his audience. And the show’s success across platforms shows his brand continues to reach new generations.

His legacy isn’t just about longevity over more than 30 years. It’s also about the path he created. Patrick was the first major star to leave ESPN of his own accord and prove you could build something even bigger outside what he calls "The Mothership." It’s hard to imagine names like Colin Cowherd or Bill Simmons making similar moves a decade later without that example.

Sports broadcasting legend Dan Patrick. (David E. Klutho /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)

There are very few people who appear to have influenced Pat McAfee, a true trailblazer of his time. Dan Patrick is one of them. When McAfee signed a reported $120 million deal with FanDuel in 2021, he pointed to Patrick’s advice.

"When I ask Dan Patrick for some advice, he told me to always take care of the boys. He said, ‘You should know those people that are there with you, that their value cannot be overstated.’"

McAfee still follows that approach. He treats his producers, "the boys," like Patrick treats the Danettes, not as side characters but as part of the show itself.

Producers are often the most important and least appreciated people in media. The Danettes are both. Andrew "McLovin" Perloff turned his time as a Danette into a national radio show in 2021 alongside Maggie Gray.

It’s unclear how Patrick will spend retirement or whether he’ll stay involved in media in some capacity. But he has already started giving back. In 2018, he partnered with Full Sail University to launch the Dan Patrick School of Sportscasting, a degree program for aspiring broadcasters.

"It’s the proudest thing I’ve ever accomplished in this business because it’s changing lives," Patrick said in 2022. "That ability to see someone start a program, learn from people who’ve been in the business, understand the highs and lows. The growth you see, that’s rewarding."

Speaking for myself, I don’t know if OutKick or I acknowledging Dan Patrick’s legacy does him any favors with the sports media industry at large. Then again, if there’s one thing the industry can still agree on, across every cultural divide, it’s the respect Dan Patrick has earned.

There’s a reason he, unlike so many before him, gets to go out while still on top.