A Prior Approval Was Sought From Alex Rodriguez Before Derek Jeter Was Hired For MLB pregame show

Alex Rodriguez had to give his blessing for Derek Jeter’s new contract to serve as an on-air commentator for Fox Sports, according to a story by Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.

A Prior Approval Was Sought From Alex Rodriguez Before Derek Jeter Was Hired For MLB pregame show

Rodriguez, who has been employed by the network since 2017 and is known to have, to put it mildly, a contentious relationship with his former Yankees teammate, was given the idea by Fox Sports President Eric Shanks.

‘Why wouldn’t we reach out?’ Fox Sports spokesman Andrew Fegyveresi asked the Post, without specifically confirming the report.

NEWS: Fox Sports checked with Alex Rodriguez for green light before hiring Derek Jeter.https://t.co/zvALXedRcA

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) March 28, 2023

A-Rod did grant his blessing, and this season he will join Jeter on the Fox Sports pregame broadcasts, along with his old nemesis David Ortiz and the presenter Kevin Burkhardt. Although Tom Brady, Jeter’s pal, has a 10-year, $375 million deal to start calling NFL games for the network in 2024, the specifics of Jeter’s contract have not been made public.

(Left to Right) Sammy Sosa, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Barry Bonds, 1998 pic.twitter.com/I1r95BHvDN

— Havana50 (@Mligueltersy) March 28, 2023

Despite the recent on-air embraces when Fox revealed Jeter’s contract in February, the two have undoubtedly grown apart since since Rodriguez downplayed the former’s accomplishments in a 2001 interview.

“Jeter’s been blessed with great talent around him,” Rodriguez told the magazine at the time. “So he’s never had to lead. He doesn’t have to, he can just go and play and have fun, and hit second. I mean, you know, hitting second is totally different than hitting third or fourth in a lineup because you go into New York trying to stop Bernie [Williams] and [Paul] O’Neill and everybody. You never say, ‘Don’t let Derek beat you.’ That’s never your concern.”

Alex Rodriguez gave Fox Sports approval to add Derek Jeter to its pregame coveragehttps://t.co/kLEhCX4fvf

— Yankees Nation (@YankeesNationCP) March 28, 2023

For ESPN’s seven-part documentary series “The Captain,” Jeter and Rodriguez both discussed their friendship in detail. The relationship was not the same as it was before to his statements in 2001, even when Rodriguez joined the Yankees in 2004. The two appeared together on an ESPN broadcast of a Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox game in the 2022 season, seemingly mending fences.