Few people in sports are as passionate about investigative journalism as Don Van Natta Jr. is.

The Pulitzer Prize winner has written several in-depth, important stories since joining ESPN in 2011. Last month, Van Natta re-signed with the Worldwide Leader on a multi-year contract. The deal keeps one of ESPN’s most respected reporters on staff.

We recently caught up with Van Natta to discuss his career, investigative journalism, and his upcoming book about Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The biography, titled The Star, is set for release in August 2027.

Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Congrats on the contract. What does this new deal mean to you?

Don Van Natta Jr.: “It means everything. The commitment ESPN has made to investigative reporting, from the time I joined the company in 2012 to today, nearly 15 years later, is extraordinary. At a time when there are cutbacks across newsrooms, ESPN has continued to make a substantial investment in journalism, particularly in investigative reporting. It’s a vote of confidence in the work I do, which I truly appreciate, and in the work that we all do.

“As you know, we hired six Washington Post reporters earlier this year, and they have now joined the team as my esteemed colleagues. It says a lot about ESPN and its commitment to journalism. It is also part of the company’s DNA to pursue groundbreaking work. And so I’m thrilled for the opportunity to continue doing what I do for ESPN.”

Of all the stories you’ve worked on at ESPN, is there one you’re most proud of?

“I would have to say the Jerry Jones profile I did in 2014. I spent months with Jerry in the spring and summer of 2014, which led to a profile called “Jerry Football.” That work led to a book I’m now writing, a biography for Simon & Schuster about Jerry.

“The other one I’m really proud of is my investigation into the 1973 Battle of the Sexes tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs. I got a tip that Bobby Riggs threw the match because he had a gambling debt to the mob, which, when you hear that, is hard to say with a straight face. It seemed like such a preposterous tip, but I pursued it into a story titled “The Match Maker,” published in 2013, which I think made a strong circumstantial case that Bobby Riggs threw the match.”

Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys for $150 million on Feb. 25, 1989.

In 36 years, Jerry’s investment has increased a whopping 8,433%.

Put another way, every dollar Jerry invested is now worth $84.33. https://t.co/VWW6D1PX4L

— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) August 13, 2025

What is the most common misconception you hear about investigative journalism?

“I think a lot of assumptions are made that investigative reporters bring opinions to their work, that they investigate with a preconceived notion, and that they try to find facts to hang on a result they are looking for. Nothing could be further from the truth. That’s not what we do. I think there’s, unfortunately, a blurring of the lines between opinion and news, and between hard news, too often. I think people too often confuse a hot-take artist with somebody who’s an investigative reporter or an enterprise reporter who undergoes rigorous fact-checking and editing, legal reviews of their work, and I think too often readers, consumers of sports media, look at everything through the same looking glass, and that’s unfortunate.”

How does this process begin?

“Most of the work that I do, and that most investigative reporters do, begins with either a tip, where you have a lead on something you are told is the truth, and you go and investigate that. Often, that can lead you down different paths, and a story can be very different from the initial tip. Or you begin an investigation just with a question. You basically start your reporting with a question.”

Can you give us an example?

“So, in 2015, my colleague Seth Wickersham and I had a question: Why is the NFL throwing the book so hard at Tom Brady over some deflated footballs? What is really going on here? And that led to a story where we actually found there was a lot of pressure brought to bear on Commissioner Goodell to hammer the Patriots because there was a perception around the league among the owners that Roger Goodell had gone easy on Robert Kraft, the owner of the Patriots, and the team over the Spygate scandal. And so, as one owner told Seth and me, it was a make-up call that Roger did in giving Brady the four-game suspension for the deflated footballs. So that’s one example of it.”

The #Deflategate verdict at Napper Tandy’s in Walpole, Mass. pic.twitter.com/C82GCJ5UHz (h/t @T_Ryan22)

— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) May 16, 2015

What is the most challenging part of being an investigative reporter?

“You’re constantly working hard to gain people’s trust. At a time when, as we discussed earlier, journalism IQ might be low, trust in journalists is at an all-time low. The public is constantly being told about fake news and that journalists are the enemy of the people. It’s harder and harder, as a reporter, especially as an investigative reporter, to get people to trust you. Another hard part of the job is that secrets are often kept under nondisclosure agreements (NDAs). So you sometimes have to persuade people who have no incentive to talk about something because their silence has been bought. And that’s another difficulty.”

How do you earn people’s trust?

“The best answer is to try to see them. It’s really hard to gain someone’s trust only over the phone or via text. You can do it, but it’s really, really difficult. It’s much easier to go sit down with someone and look them in the eye. If you’re passionate about the truth, this is another important tool of the trade. All of us, as journalists, care deeply about the truth. If you show that passion for the truth to someone who is also incentivized to tell the truth, that’s another way to win their trust. And it certainly works. I tell young journalism students all the time not to be shy about showing their passion for the truth because when they do, it matters to people, particularly those whose trust they’re trying to win.

“I do think that reputation helps. We all have access to Google, and we can go there to see journalists’ previous work and what they’ve done. I know that has certainly occasionally been an advantage for me.”

Are there times right before a story comes out when it causes you a lot of anxiety?

“Usually not. Maybe it sounds a little arrogant to say that. I don’t mean it that way. We try to bulletproof our stories. One tool I use with a story is rigorous fact-checking, and I think about whether I’m missing anything. Is there a side of the story I’m missing? Are there people I should be talking to that I’m not? It’s the philosophy that when you report, you report out of fear, fearful that there’s something you don’t know. And so you blanket the coverage area with as many phone calls, texts, e-mails, and interviews as possible. You’re never going to get 100% of the story, but you try to get as close as possible.”

Some news: I’m writing a book about Jerry Jones. Called “The Star,” my book will trace Jones’s remarkable life story and the astonishing rise of the NFL. Thrilled to be back in Jerry’s World. Coming in 2026 from @AvidReaderPress, a @simonschuster imprint. https://t.co/s2SNjGauinpic.twitter.com/Zhsio7SnAH

— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) March 7, 2024

Why write a book about Jerry Jones?

“It’s scheduled to come out in August 2027. Initially, it was announced for this year, but I’m still working on it. And a lot of the projects I’ve done at ESPN have slowed the process. So the earliest it’ll come out is August 2027. It’s a biography of Jerry Jones. It’s a portrait of his life, and there’s a lot in the book about the great influence he’s had on the success of the National Football League.”

Could you share any details about the biography?

“Jerry’s a guy who likes to carry cash. He’s kind of old-school that way. And there’s never less than a couple of thousand dollars in his pocket at any one time. Jerry is a guy who uses cash more than credit…

“One of the things I get into in my book is how deeply in debt Jerry was as a young man. And I’ll break news there. I don’t want to say too much about it. But Jerry relied heavily on debt in his 20s and 30s. He’s talked a little bit about it, but it’s much worse than anyone knows. The financial distress he felt as a young man trying to make his first million dollars in Arkansas was far greater than most people realize.”

The post Don Van Natta Jr.: New ESPN contract shows network’s ‘commitment to journalism’ appeared first on Awful Announcing.