Marc Stein found life after ESPN. Now he’s running his own NBA business

Marc Stein spent decades working for some of the biggest names in sports media. These days, he’s working for Marc Stein.

And apparently he’s enjoying the business side more than he ever expected.

Stein, the longtime NBA insider and Basketball Hall of Fame Curt Gowdy Media Award recipient, discussed the growth of his independent newsletter, The Stein Line, in a fascinating look at the newsletter business from Sport and State.

Stein launched The Stein Line on Substack in 2021 after stops at ESPN and The New York Times. Five years later, Substack ranks it ninth among its paid sports publications.

He wouldn’t reveal his number of paying subscribers, but he did reveal one number he watches closely: Daily revenue compared to the same date a year earlier.

“If I generated more revenue on, say, Sept. 15, 2026, than I did on Sept. 15, 2025, I count that as progress,” Stein said.

Welcome to publishing, Marc. His subscribers are paying primarily for what Stein described as “proprietary intel-heavy” NBA reporting.

That’s hardly surprising. Scoops and information have been Stein’s currency for years. Now he’s essentially selling them directly to the reader instead of producing them for somebody else’s platform.

“These last five years have tapped into an entrepreneurial side that I’m not sure I realized I had,” Stein said.

He’s expanded the operation, too. Fellow NBA insider Jake Fischer joined The Stein Line in 2024 as a twice-weekly contributor.

There’s something interesting about the evolution. Stein reached the top of traditional sports media. ESPN. The New York Times. The Basketball Hall of Fame.

Then he went independent. Turns out there was another career waiting for him there.