#Dan Patrick’s wife convinced him to leave ESPN

Dan Patrick has shed some light on what convinced him it was time to leave ESPN’s media empire.

The legendary broadcaster appeared on Kyle Brandt’s “10 Questions” podcast and explained he was about to sign a five-year deal with the Mothership — until his wife, Susan, gave him some perspective on why that may not be his best course.

“My four kids were aged 9-15, and I was going to sign a new five-year deal at ESPN,” Patrick said. “I remember that morning, my wife said, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ She said, ‘They’re all gonna be out of the house when you’re done with this.’ I’m not even thinking that.”

Instead, Patrick was thinking about how much the company would pay him and for how many shows. He went into ESPN offices in Bristol and rejected their offer.

“I remember going in, and I went upstairs, and my boss said, ‘What are you gonna do? Take it or leave it.’ I paused, and said, ‘I’m gonna leave it.’ He didn’t hear me … I said, ‘No, I’m gonna leave.’

Patrick said he went outside, called his wife, and she told him that even if they had to sell their house, it was okay.

“That’s when it hit me: She had perspective, I had none,” Patrick said. “I’m on TV, making great money. She’s raising the kids. I was so blind to it. And thank God I came home.”

Patrick left ESPN in 2007, and launched his radio show months later, which has since become syndicated and can be streamed on NBC’s Peacock platform.

In succeeding, he set the template for a bevy of other talents over the past 15 years that there can indeed be fruitful professional life outside of the four letters.