Erin Dolan bets on herself with new ESPN contract — and the ‘double-edged sword’ that comes with it

Erin Dolan, 29-year-old ESPN sports betting analyst, has secured a multi-year contract renewal with ESPN in a deal announced Sept. 4, 2025, a milestone she described as a personal and professional first: she negotiated the agreement herself. Dolan joined ESPN in December 2021 and has since built a profile in sports betting content that spans multiple programs and platforms. She did not reveal the exact terms of the renewal, but said the arrangement will keep her on air across several ESPN properties, including ESPN BET Live, SportsCenter, and Sunday NFL Countdown, among others. Dolan said the renewal reflects a balance between delivering value to the company and building a career on her own terms, a dynamic she described as mutual and collaborative.

The move underscores Dolan’s push to control how she brands herself within a fast-evolving space. She told The Post that she negotiated the deal herself, a step she called a learning process in which she aimed to produce measurable value for ESPN while continuing to grow as a on-air personality and content creator. The arrangement, she added, requires versatility: she does not fit a single box, and viewers will see her contribute across different formats. “I feel like I’ve done a good job at keeping the line of entertainment and fun, while also being professional, and balancing many different hats,” Dolan said. “On SportsCenter, I’m not going to be my crazy fun self as much as I would be on BET Live, and then I’m more buttoned up on Countdown.”

Dolan emphasized the “double-edged sword” of negotiating for herself. She noted that her goal is to articulate her value clearly while ensuring she can deliver content that resonates with ESPN’s audience. “There’s a mutual understanding [between us] and with any business agreement, they gain a lot from me and I gain a lot from them,” she said. “But this was really something that I have never done before, in negotiating for myself. So I learned everything. And I really am proud of just the way that it was handled. And, you know, everyone got what they wanted.” Dolan also noted that credibility can be hard-won in a niche space where she provides betting guidance to a broad audience. She revealed she keeps direct messages off, in part to protect herself in a field where online feedback can be intense and personal.

The practical realities of live betting content also shape her approach. Dolan described how betting lines move around the clock, requiring quick pivots in analysis and on-screen commentary. She recounted an incident from a recent Thursday Night Football game in which a “best bet” was initially available, then not, due to market changes. The line later reappeared at a different level, changing the viability of the pick she had planned to emphasize. Such experiences, she said, underscore why she often presents her own picks, without teleprompters or scripted prompts, and why she emphasizes being adaptive while maintaining credibility with viewers. “I don’t use a teleprompter. I don’t have anything to rely on. Like, I really have it in my head,” she said. “That’s something that I’m proud of.”

Dolan’s commentary extends beyond the screen into her broader career trajectory. Before ESPN, she produced sports betting content for FanDuel and PointsBet and contributed to B/R Betting’s “The Group Chat” and SiriusXM’s “The Early Line.” Earlier in her career, she worked as a sports reporter for PHL17 in Philadelphia and served as a sideline reporter for the Philadelphia Wings. Her background reflects a long arc of hands-on content creation, from field reporting to on-air analysis, and underscores how she has carved a space for herself within a rapidly professionalizing betting media ecosystem.

Her Philadelphia roots and personal interests are a visible part of her on-air persona. A lifelong Eagles fan, Dolan is proud to showcase her local loyalty and to engage audiences with a balance of insider knowledge and personal flair. She has highlighted the challenges women face in the sports-betting space, including a higher level of scrutiny and frequently personal comments about appearance. To mitigate some of that pressure, Dolan said she blocks or mutes most unsolicited messages and focuses on the constructive interactions with viewers and colleagues. She also uses her platform to document the behind-the-scenes work that goes into producing betting content, including her TikTok videos that offer glimpses into her process and day-to-day experience.

Outside her ESPN duties, Dolan has kept her personal life active and focused on her interests. She enjoys time at the beach, a staple that she describes as her happy place, and she is dating Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm. Dolan has also spoken about how important it is to remain grounded amid the professional demands of a high-profile role in sports media, and she emphasizes the value of staying connected to familiar passions like football, Philadelphia sports, and her hometown community. A notable moment in her public-facing journey occurred in February 2024 when she rang the Liberty Bell at a Sixers game, a moment she described as a symbol of her roots and her persistence in a challenging industry.

Dolan frames her path as a sign of timing aligning with industry changes. Sports betting became legal in the United States in 2018—the same year she completed her degree in broadcast journalism at Penn State—creating opportunities for a wave of new content creators and on-air talent in the space. She acknowledged that early in her career she contemplated leaving the industry, but an opportunity with ESPN arrived at a moment when legalized betting and digital media intersected in powerful ways. Her prior work with FanDuel, PointsBet, and other betting-focused outlets helped shape her distinctive style, one that blends entertainment and analysis while maintaining a commitment to accuracy and transparency about the bets she endorses for viewers.

As Dolan continues to expand her footprint at ESPN, her experience highlights both the potential and the risks of building a personal brand within sports betting media. The contract renewal illustrates how athletes-turned-media personalities increasingly manage their careers through direct negotiation, brand control, and a willingness to navigate a rapidly changing landscape where credibility, audience trust, and visibility are tightly linked to performance and accountability. It also underscores the broader shift in which traditional sports media companies seek to integrate betting content as a core component of their engaged audiences, while talent like Dolan strives to maintain autonomy in an industry characterized by fast-moving markets and persistent public scrutiny.