Sports fans who have enjoyed Steve Kornacki’s analysis of the NFL playoff picture and horse racing odds received some good news on Tuesday.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Kornacki is exiting MSNBC for a new deal with both NBC News and NBC Sports. The news comes as parent company Comcast prepares to spin MSNBC off into its own entity, with NBC News and NBC Sports remaining under the Comcast banner.
While the 45-year-old Kornacki is best known for his analysis of political data (which he’ll continue at NBC News), he’s also built a following in the sports world in recent years thanks to his breakdowns of the NFL playoff picture. Since 2020, the Boston University alum has been a late-season staple of NBC’s Football Night in America, dissecting who’s in, who’s out and who needs what to happen as if the NFL standings were an election map.
In addition to his late-season NFL coverage, Kornacki has also contributed to NBC’s presentation of Triple Crown horse races and the Olympics, providing his signature statistical analysis typically with regard to betting odds and medal counts. In 2021, he correctly picked Medina Spirit as the winner of the Kentucky Derby at 12-to-1 odds, a hefty payout for anyone who tailed the data guru.
Details regarding the NBC Sports portion of Kornacki’s new deal have yet to be announced, but one would imagine that he’ll also be contributing to the network’s NBA coverage with the league set to return to NBC’s airwaves during the 2025-26 season. Considering the growing accessibility and popularity of the sports betting industry, it makes sense that NBC would want to lean into the expertise of an analytics maven, especially one with a proven track record.
While much of the focus regarding his new deals has been placed on the end of his 13-year stint at MSNBC, all indications appear to be that this is a move aimed at positioning Steve Kornacki as one of NBC’s signature talents. And that’s not just the case in politics, but also sports, where he’s already proven to be a fan favorite.