On Sunday, longtime ESPN announcer Mark Jones is ending his run at ESPN, a tenure that lasted an incredible 36 years.
Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reports that play by play announcer Mark Jones is leaving ESPN after 36 years.
— First and Pen (@firstandpen) April 10, 2026
He started at ESPN in 1990 and is the fifth-longest tenured broadcaster still working for the network. His last game is Sunday. Congrats on an amazing run Mark! 👏🏾👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/RlSjqWnhMO
Jones, 64, began his sports media career after finishing his basketball playing career at York University in Canada.
He spoke with an executive from The Sports Network (TSN) in Canada after his team lost in their tournament and asked him for a job. That conversation led to an internship where, in 1986, he started working for the network logging NBA games for the network and making $35 a shift.
“My job entailed watching NBA games on a monitor and logging highlights to write up highlight packages for the anchors that night,” Jones told the Sacramento Kings Conversations with Deuce & Mo podcast.
Despite the low pay, that job helped him find his calling. So after watching those highlights and writing those scripts, he decided to make it a career. He worked hard, got a field reporter job with TSN for two years and was eventually promoted to anchor.
But it was a chance meeting with Bryant Gumbel in Canada during the Toronto Blue Jays vs Oakland A’s playoff series that pushed him into overdrive.
Jones approached Gumbel, introduced himself and told him that he wanted to call games like he did. The broadcast legend told him what he didn’t expect but was grateful to hear.
“Young man, I watched your sportscast last night. You’re ready right now,” Jones said Gumbel told him.
