ESPN has decided to keep Big Perk right where he is.
The network announced on Thursday that they have officially signed Kendrick Perkins to a contract extension. Perkins’ new deal is said to be a “multi-year” one.
In addition to Perkins, ESPN has agreed to multi-year contract extensions with three other basketball analysts — Tim Legler (a longtime ESPN host), Monica McNutt (who covers the NBA and the WNBA and also does sideline reporting work), and Chiney Ogwumike (who does studio analyst work on ESPN’s NBA, WNBA, and women’s college basketball programming).
The 39-year-old Perkins, a former NBA champion big man with the Boston Celtics, joined ESPN in 2019. Since then, he has become a regular part of their NBA programming, including on their studio shows like “NBA Today.” Perkins also appears on “ESPN NBA Countdown” and will now feature on ABC editions of “NBA Countdown” starting this year too, the release adds.
While Perkins’ takes can sometimes be hollow or even downright bad, he is a very entertaining personality overall who has had more than his fair share of classic moments on the air. But fans may still have very mixed feelings about Perkins getting a contract extension from ESPN while some of the network’s much more analytical hosts got laid off instead.
