One of the biggest pending free agents in basketball will not hit the market and is re-signing with his squad.
Shams Charania, the prominent NBA insider and newsbreaker, told Complex Sports Monday night that he’s staying with The Athletic and has agreed to a new contract with the media outlet where his reporting and writing has appeared since 2018.
“I’m thrilled to be staying and look forward to continue growing with a company that is still so hungry and motivated,” Charania said.
The 26-year-old insider, who regularly breaks some of the biggest stories in basketball, had held discussions with several other media outlets, according to a source familiar with the situation. But the Chicago-based reporter, currently covering the NBA Playoffs in Orlando, ultimately decided to re-up with The Athletic.
A recent guest on the Load Management podcast and a Complex Sports profile subject in 2016 and 2018, Charania’s rise from a college kid covering Milwaukee Bucks games to being one of the most dialed-in insiders in all of sports media has been among the most unique in the industry. In 2018 when his contract with Yahoo Sports! was up, Charania had talks with ESPN, Turner Sports, Facebook, Yahoo, and NBC Sports before deciding upon The Athletic and Stadium as his next landing spot. He was expected to be a hot commodity again this summer—his contract expired Monday—with many of the same outlets from two years ago showing similar interest. He'll be sticking with the subscription-based website where he's the lead NBA newsbreaker and is first on a ton of Association-related items.
John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reported earlier this month that The Athletic and Stadium, the internet sports network where Charania's been a contributor since 2018, had "made moves to keep him." Charania declined comment about his future with Stadium.
