Tom Rinaldi has a prominent history as one of the most accomplished reporters and sports storytellers in recent memory. From ESPN to Fox Sports, Rinaldi has become well-known for interviewing some of the sports world’s brightest stars, NFL and otherwise.
Tom Rinaldi’s Career
Rinaldi earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and continued his education at Columbia, where he attended the university’s Graduate School of Journalism.
He began his career in journalism as a reporter for local news stations, bouncing from South Bend, Indiana to Portland, Oregon before landing with a national news outlet.
After four years with the now-defunct CNN/SI network, Rinaldi burst onto the national scene when he joined ESPN. Following 17 years with the outlet, Rinaldi left ESPN to join Fox Sports in 2020.
At ESPN, Rinaldi became one of the most well-traveled journalists in sports, covering everything from the NFL to college football, the NBA, professional golf, professional tennis, and the MLB. Rinaldi has covered many of these sports’ highest-profile events, including the Super Bowl, World Series, College Football Playoff, the Masters, Wimbledon, and the US Open.
Rinaldi is likely best known to television viewers as one of the sports world’s preeminent sideline reporters, but he’s also called play-by-play for tennis matches at Wimbledon and the US Open and has received acclaim for his unique brand of storytelling.
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For some of his deep dives into various sports stories, Rinaldi has been nominated for Sports Emmy Awards spanning five categories and amounting to 40 total nominations.
Rinaldi has secured 16 Sports Emmy Awards, seven Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, 3 Associated Press Awards, and a USA Today Feature-of-the-Year Award for his work.
The Fox Sports reporter has also dipped his toes into the literary world with the New York Times bestseller “The Red Bandanna: A Life, A Choice, A Legacy,” which “chronicles the heroic acts and tragic death of former Boston College lacrosse player, volunteer fighter and equities trader Welles Crowther, who lost his life while saving others in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”
Some of Rinaldi’s most high-profile interviews have included tennis legends Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer, former Duke Basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski, Alabama football head coach Nick Saban, MLB stars Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. He was the first reporter to interview Tiger Woods after stories about the golf titan’s affairs became public.
What Is Rinaldi’s Net Worth?
The specifics of Rinaldi’s contract are not public information, though some reports have indicated that his Fox Sports salary is in the $2 million per year range.