Adi Joseph is trading in a closet full of CBS Sports caps for the four most recognizable letters in sports media.
Joseph announced on LinkedIn that he’s departing CBS Sports after nine years to become ESPN’s vice president of news, succeeding David Kraft atop the network’s newsgathering operation when he starts on Monday. The move ends a tenure in which Joseph became so synonymous with the CBS Sports logo that, by his own account, he kept as many as eight branded caps in his rotation, a habit that became a running joke among his co-workers and friends alike.
“I’m replacing the legend David Kraft as Vice President of News at the World Wide Leader,” he wrote. “I couldn’t be more excited for the new challenge, where I’ll have a much more directly integrated role in television platforms and work with the people who break so much of the sports news that exists.”
Joseph spent nine years helping engineer CBS Sports’ digital expansion, from the earliest rehearsals for CBS Sports HQ to a stretch atop Comscore’s rankings as the No. 1 sports brand, all while weathering a parade of corporate ownership changes that culminated in Skydance’s takeover during his final week.
The University of Maryland graduate also served as CBS Sports’ vice president of editorial since 2023, overseeing CBSSports.com, 247Sports and SportsLine. Before arriving at CBS in 2017, Joseph cut his teeth largely on the NBA beat as an editor, directing coverage of the league for USA Today Sports and Sporting News, and he briefly served as deputy editor of USA Today’s For The Win.
Joseph now inherits one of the most consequential editorial posts in sports media. ESPN annnounced Kraft’s retirement in January, concluding a three-decade run that began in 1996 when he joined the network as an editor for its Olympic coverage. Kraft rose to vice president in 2021 after six years as a senior director and executive editor, and he presided over ESPN’s Universal News Group, the division he helped establish a decade ago to provide editorial guidance across the company’s television, audio, digital and social platforms, as well as its app push alerts.
“I’ve had a fantastic run with ESPN and am proud of what we’ve accomplished — and continue to accomplish on a daily basis — as a newsroom,” Kraft said in the announcement. “Our journalism is in a great place and we have great people to carry it onward and upward. I very much appreciate the support I’ve gotten from our leadership team since I made this decision.”
Joseph, meanwhile, has more pressing matters to attend to before Monday.
“I just need a few more hats.”