In the letter, Manfred cited ESPN's lack of baseball coverage in its programming outside of the games as one of the reasons why he agreed to terminate the deal that was set to run through the 2028 season. However, CNN Sports' Kyle Feldscher reported that the breakup perhaps wasn't completely mutual.

Amid a shifting landscape of regional sports networks, the sides agreed not to extend the deal before their self-imposed March 1 deadline.

In what was announced as a mutual breakup of two longtime media partners, Major League Baseball and ESPN announced they would opt out of their contract ahead of their March deadline to do so. ESPN has aired MLB games since 1990,