'Outside the Lines' host Bob Ley announces retirement from ESPN after 40-year career

Bob Ley, host of ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” and the network’s longest-tenured employee, announced his retirement from ESPN on Wednesday morning via Twitter.

“Across 40 years I have enjoyed a professional journey unimaginable when I joined ESPN on its first weekend of existence in 1979. Each day since has been a unique adventure, one I embraced for the challenge and unequaled fun of a job like no other.

Now, it’s time for a change.

I will be retiring from ESPN, as of the end of this month.

To be clear, this is entirely my decision. I enjoy the best of health, and the many blessings of friends and family, and it is in that context that I’m making this change.

To Jimmy Pitaro and his senior leadership team, my sincere personal thanks for their understanding and patience over the past months.

Through the decades, and my innumerable experiences at ESPN, I have built many deep and fulfilling friendships. You know who you are. I hope you also know how much you mean to me. We have shared an American story unlike any other. And we will continue to do so in the years ahead.

I have been gifted by our viewers and consumers with a precious commodity — your trust. To be invited into your homes was a privilege I never took for granted, one I worked each day to uphold. Thank you for that.

In September, I signed off my last show saying, ‘I’ll catch you on the flip side.’ Now it’s time to take that vinyl off the turntable (ask your folks), flip it over, and drop the needle on the B-side. There are always great cuts, and hidden gems on the B-side.

Thank you for a great run.”

The 64-year-old Ley, who had been with ESPN since its inception in 1979, announced in September 2018 that he would be taking a six-month sabbatical from “Outside the Lines.” He was technically due back on the job in April 2019, but announced in early May that he was extending his sabbatical indefinitely. Ley had hosted “Outside the Lines” since it premiered in 1990, and was awarded a sports Emmy in 2018 for his work on the show.

Ley’s retirement will take effect in just a few days, and it doesn’t seem like he’ll do a formal goodbye on “Outside the Lines.” If he doesn’t, his message at the end of the final show before his sabbatical serves as a perfect farewell — not forever, but just for now.

“I’ve got the best job in the world and to step back from it might seem counter-intuitive, which is a fancy word for ‘nuts.’ It’s a decision not lightly reached and one that I’ve spent a great deal of time on. I work with a talented and visionary group of colleagues who in the crucible of doing live television, they’ve also become friends. They include all the people around this table, whom you will see a lot more of going forward. I hope you receive them with the same courtesy and interest you have extended to me. And so I will catch you on the flip side.”

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