Matthew Berry, the most recognizable and influential personality in fantasy sports, has reached a new contract extension with ESPN to continue as the company’s Senior Fantasy Analyst through 2021.
Berry will continue to write for ESPN.com, host ESPN’s “Fantasy Focus Football” podcast, serve as lead fantasy analyst for Fantasy Football Kickoff and Fantasy Football Now on ESPN2, as well as make regular appearances on NFL Monday Night Countdown, Sunday NFL Countdown, NFL Live, and SportsCenter on ESPN, and more.
“No one works harder or loves his job more than Matthew Berry, and it shows in everything he does for ESPN and the fans we serve,” said Chad Millman, ESPN Vice President and Editorial Director, Domestic Digital Content. “He actually lives the ‘Fantasy Life’ he describes in his writing, which makes his voice uniquely authentic and adds depth and breadth to his analysis. Matthew is the leading voice in fantasysports and this passionate and engaged audience is crucial to every platform at ESPN. Without question we are happy to have Matthew at ESPN for years to come.”
Said Berry, “For what I do, I truly believe I have the best job in the world. The support, enthusiasm and audience for fantasy sports at ESPN are unmatched anywhere in the industry. Whether it’s the “06010” podcast, Fantasy Football Now, my column or any number of areas of the company I’m lucky enough to contribute to, it’s an absolute blast to work with and for so many incredible colleagues. I came to the company over a decade ago and it’s been an amazing journey, for both myself and the game that I love. So I’m thrilled and blessed that I get to continue it with ESPN for a long time to come.I mean, come on. To write and talk about fantasy football for the Worldwide Leader? It doesn’t get better than that.”
Since Berry joined ESPN full time nearly a decade ago, ESPN fantasy football has grown steadily every year and has been recognized as the No. 1 fantasy football game in the industry for the last several years. He also was the first fantasy football analyst to join ESPN’s NFL Draft Day coverage last year.
Berry’s written work forms the foundation of ESPN’s industry-leading fantasy football coverage. His annual “Love/Hate” column, which will be released on August 11, consistently ranks among the top trafficked stories on ESPN.com for the entire year, while the in-season editions are among the most-read columns on ESPN.com on a weekly basis. Berry also headlines ESPN’s weekly fantasy football rankings, which are among ESPN’s most popular pieces of content each week during the fantasy football season and are integrated in ESPN’s industry-leading fantasy football game and the ESPN’s Fantasy Football app.
The Fantasy Focus Football podcast, which Berry cohosts along with partner Field Yates, is ESPN’s top-rated podcast on a yearly basis, and generated the top five individual months by any company podcast during the 2016 NFL season. It was named best Fantasy Sports Podcast for 2015 by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association and has won seven Podcast Awards until this past year, when it was declared a “legacy” podcast, making it ineligible from winning additional awards. This year, the podcast will go on the road for its first live show with a sold-out event in New York City on August 10th. Also, as part of Berry’s new responsibilities, the podcast will become the first ESPN digital audio product to be filmed for digital video distribution on a daily basis.
His first book, “Fantasy Life” was published in 2013 and debuted at number five on the New York Times Best Seller list, spending two months on the list. Berry is one of only five people to be in the Hall of Fame of both the Fantasy Sports Trade Association and the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. He has won a Sports Emmy for his work on Fantasy Football Now on ESPN2 – the network’s highest rated non-live event programming in the fall – and was named the 2013 Marketer of the Year by the Academy of Marketing Science for his role in fueling the growth of fantasy football.
Berry joined ESPN in January of 2005, working part time for ESPN Radio 710 in Los Angeles. In 2006, he joined ESPN2’s The Fantasy Showalongside Ron Jaworski, and in February 2007 he joined the company full-time when his web site, TalentedMr.Roto.com, was acquired by ESPN. Berry also founded and still owns RotoPass.com and is the founder of Fantasy Movie League, as well as the app Fantasy Life, based off of his book.
Born in Denver, but raised in College Station, Texas, Berry began playing fantasy sports at age 14 and plays in dozens of leagues every year across multiple sports. He started writing about fantasy sports professionally in 1999 and has been a contributor to many top media and sports outlets prior to joining ESPN, including MLB.com, NBA.com and Rotoworld. He also spent two years working with the NBA as a consultant, helping them grow their fantasy basketball business. He is a graduate of Syracuse University.
ESPN Fantasy Sports serves fans with a wide range of Fantasy games, along with industry-leading expert analysis and content, compelling community tools, and full integration across multiple platforms, including the No. 1 NFL Fantasy Football Game.