Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United and England defender, could be moving on from TNT Sports at the end of the season after failing to sign a contract extension
Concerns are growing at TNT Sports over Rio Ferdinand’s contract status with the former Manchester United and England defender yet to sign an extension to his current deal despite being offered fresh terms six months ago.
Ferdinand, 46, has been a mainstay with the broadcaster, who started out as BT Sport back in 2013. However, there are now fears that he could choose to seek out new opportunities overseas rather than signing a contract offer which has been on the table for months.
As revealed by The Daily Mail, eyebrows were raised at TNT when New Era, Ferdinand’s management company, entered into a partnership with William Morris Endeavor, a renowned American talent agency. And they are said to be focused on securing opportunities for Ferdinand in the United States.
A move Stateside would make sense given the 2026 World Cup will take place across the USA, Canada and Mexico next year. Losing Ferdinand would represent a major blow for TNT, who broadcast games from the Premier and the Champions League regularly throughout the season.
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Ferdinand is a prominent figure on their coverage and is also a regular for the BBC during international tournaments. With his background both on and off the pitch, he would likely not be short of opportunities across the Atlantic in the build-up to next year’s World Cup.
He joins a star-studded stable of talent under the WME umbrella, including Ryan Reynolds, Jessica Alba and Maggie Gyllenhaal, along with a number of top NBA stars as part of their sporting portfolio.
While he is most commonly associated with Manchester United, Ferdinand also represented West Ham, Leeds and QPR during his storied playing career before hanging up his boots back in 2015.
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Ferdinand revealed in an interview with GQ last year that he is always mindful of never making things personal now that he’s on the other side of the screen after recalling incidents that affected him when he was a player.
“The simple guideline I have for myself is to say what you see, be honest and never, ever be personal,” the former centre-half said. “And always remember what it was like when you played and people were talking about you.”
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