Dan Patrick has named a condition that could keep him on the air beyond his previously stated retirement timeline: if *The Dan Patrick Show* wins a Sports Emmy, he says he will stay for another year.
Patrick discussed the possibility during a caller’s question about whether he would continue working if the show earned an award in what could be his final year. The caller asked whether winning would persuade him to stay and try to repeat the achievement or whether he would retire as planned.
“It’s a good question, but I have to, do we have to take a break here? You got three minutes. That’s what I thought. If we win the Sports Emmy, I’ll stay another year,” Patrick replied.
The comment adds a new condition to a retirement plan he first outlined several years ago. In 2023, Patrick said he expected to finish his broadcasting career in January 2028. At the time, he described the timeline as four and a half more years of work and joked that he would then appear on *The Golden Bachelor*. He also said that January 2028 would be when his microphone was turned off for the final time.
That plan followed a multi-year contract extension Patrick signed in July 2023 with NBC Sports and iHeartMedia. The agreement runs through the end of 2027. Patrick acknowledged at the time that his retirement comments and contract announcement had come in an unusual order.
“I did it backwards, that I announced my retirement, then announced my contract extension,” he said. “It’s sort of an Elton John Farewell Tour, where it’s going on for years, and I apologize for that.”
His latest remarks suggest that a Sports Emmy win could extend his career beyond the contract’s current end date. For now, however, the possibility remains conditional: Patrick has said he would stay another year if the show wins, not that he has made a firm decision to retire or continue.
## Patrick’s Long Broadcasting Career
Patrick joined ESPN in 1989 and became a familiar face as a *SportsCenter* host. He remained with the network through 2006, bringing his 18-year ESPN run to a close in August 2007.
*The Dan Patrick Show* launched on October 1, 2007, soon after his departure from ESPN. Patrick hosts and produces the three-hour program, which is distributed to radio stations through Premiere Radio Networks. It appears in Fox Sports Radio’s programming lineup and is also carried as a standalone syndicated show. The program is available on YouTube, where it has 413,000 subscribers.
Patrick has already received major industry recognition. During his ESPN tenure, he won the 1997 Sports Emmy for “Outstanding Sports Personality – Studio Host.” His syndicated show, however, has not received a Sports Emmy nomination or a win, despite Patrick’s belief that its work merits recognition.
A potential nomination could come in the “Outstanding Sports Studio Show – Daily” category, where the program would face established competitors such as *First Things First* and *NFL Live*. Patrick has also expressed doubt that his show will win, even while making the award a factor in his retirement plans.
“There might be people who want me out of the business,” he said. “So maybe there’s a reason why we won’t win. We’re not going to win the Sports Emmy. We’re not, I’m calling it. We’re not winning it.”
The date for the 48th Sports Emmy Awards in 2027 has not yet been officially announced by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Nominations are generally announced in March or April before the ceremony.
Until the awards process unfolds, Patrick’s retirement outlook remains tied to an outcome that has eluded his show so far. If *The Dan Patrick Show* does take home a Sports Emmy, he says he is willing to remain on the air for another year.
