Peter King is leaving Sports Illustrated at the end of this month, it was announced Thursday.
King, a senior writer and founder of The MMQB, spent 29 years with SI and said he feels it's time for a change.
"When Sports Illustrated was good enough to allow me to start The MMQB five years ago, I wanted to introduce a group of promising young journalists to the SI audience and give them a chance to develop into prominent voices on the pro football scene," King said. " … I just felt it was time to move on from the 24/7-ness of football coverage and try something a little bit different. My 29 years at Sports Illustrated have been, collectively, a dream come true … For three decades, I've had the job of a lifetime in the sports media business, and I will be forever grateful to SI. I leave at the end of May with immense gratitude to my editors over the years and to my staff at The MMQB since 2013. Thanks, from the bottom of my heart.''
It was also announced Thursday that King has signed an exclusive deal with NBC Sports. He will contribute to PFT Live with Mike Florio and will continue to contribute to Football Night in America, as well as write his Monday morning football column.
"I'm thrilled to be joining NBC Sports full-time after working with the football crew there since 2006," King said. "I've loved my time there, both in the studio and doing longer features for Football Night in America, and the chance to bring my column there felt like a perfect match to me. I loved my time at Sports Illustrated. Quite frankly, it was very tough for me to leave. But the only place that felt like a great fit after my years at SI was NBC, which has always made me feel like a member of the family."
"Thank you, @SINow," King tweeted after the announcement.
