Peter King Leaving Sports Illustrated For NBC

After 29 years at Sports Illustrated, Peter King is leaving to join NBC.

SI announced King’s departure a few minutes ago, and NBC soon followed with an announcement of its own. King will continue to write his Monday morning column at NBC.

King had been with SI since 1989, where he was a senior writer and the founder of The MMQB, an NFL-focused vertical launched specifically for him five years ago.

Earlier this year, King indicated he wanted to scale back. His contract with SI had concluded at the end of March, and he continued to work at-will as he mulled what to do next. The larger question is what now becomes of The MMQB without King as its leader. In addition to writing and reporting for The MMQB and hiring a staff, King also rounded up brand partners.

Sports Illustrated is up for sale by its parent company, Meredith Corp., though a buyer was expected to take over by the end of June.