Best Sports Podcasts: Seven Active Shows, Sorted by What You Want

Sports audio is crowded. Most lists are stale.

Many guides titled best sports podcasts 2026 still recommend shows that went quiet years ago. Castos has one dated June 2023, and Riverside’s was last updated in December 2023. Our team at a full-service podcast production agency checks how shows are made and whether they still publish.

I opened seven live Apple pages on October 12, 2026 and sorted these top sports podcasts into three lanes. Each one is a good sports podcast you can follow this season. The table below gets you to a first episode quickly.

How I built this list

Each pick had to pass one check. Its Apple Podcasts page had to show recent episodes when I opened it on October 12, 2026. That check removed two shows the old version of this page recommended.

Tea with A & Phee lists 23 episodes, and its latest visible episode is dated October 2021. The Lowe Post is listed as active from 2015 to 2024, with its most recent episode shown in September 2024. Both may be wonderful archives. Neither is a show you can follow this season.

I call this the Stale Listing mistake. A list recommends a show because it was good once, and the reader subscribes to silence. A quick look at the newest episode date prevents it.

I then sorted what was left by what each show gives you. That is the idea behind the three lanes below.

The three lanes of sports podcasts

Sports audio looks like one genre, but it splits into three jobs. Knowing which job you want saves you from listening to the wrong show.

• Access. You want to hear athletes talk about their lives and careers. Club Shay Shay and Club 520 live here, and so does New Heights.
• Analysis. You want someone who knows the game to explain what happened and why. The Mina Kimes Show, The Bill Simmons Podcast and Stick to Football live here.
• Banter. You want to laugh with the hosts while sports is the excuse. Pardon My Take leads this lane.

Here is the counterintuitive part. The shows in the same lane often sound nothing alike, while shows from different lanes can share a host style. What matters is the promise on the label, so choose the lane first and the show second.

Best sports podcasts by sport: NFL, NBA and soccer

Riverside’s roundup spans football, basketball, soccer, tennis, MMA, baseball and cricket. Shortlist’s list has no basketball and only one NFL show. Castos names no women hosts. Each list leaves a hole, so here is how my seven map to the sport you follow.

• NFL. The best NFL podcasts here are New Heights and The Mina Kimes Show. The first is insider talk with family humor. The second is analysis.
• NBA. Club 520 is the pick for basketball fans. It runs weekly and comes from a former NBA All-Star.
• Soccer. Stick to Football covers the English game with former players as hosts.
• All sports. Club Shay Shay, The Bill Simmons Podcast and Pardon My Take cover many sports and pop culture.

A quick note on the best football podcasts. In the US, football means the NFL. In most other places, it means soccer. Both appear above, so check the label before you subscribe.

What I did not verify: baseball, hockey, golf, tennis or women’s leagues. I did not read enough live listings to recommend a show there, so I left them out instead of guessing. If you follow those sports, use the same activity check before you subscribe.

If you want sports podcasts to listen to by sport, use the lane table first and the sport second. A fan of one team will tolerate a looser show than a casual fan.

Is the show still active? The check most lists skip

Castos does not address whether its shows still publish. Shortlist gives no release schedules. Riverside has no activity note either. A reader has no way to know which picks are alive.

I use a three step check, and it takes a minute per show.

• Open the Apple Podcasts page and read the date of the newest episode.
• Count the gap between the last three episodes. A steady weekly gap means a live show.
• Note the average length so you know if it fits your week.

This check removed Tea with A & Phee, whose latest visible episode is dated October 2021, and The Lowe Post, whose latest is dated September 2024. I would rather publish seven alive shows than nine with two ghosts.

The same check helps you rank sports podcast popularity honestly. A show with 82,172 ratings, like Pardon My Take, has a large audience. A show with 116 ratings, like Stick to Football, may be new. Both can be right for you, but one is a bigger crowd.

Sports podcasters on Apple, famous or not, vary a lot in output. Some post daily. Some vanish after a season. The date is the only fact that does not lie.

The quick comparison

 

Counts and lengths are Apple snapshots from October 12, 2026. They change often, so use them to judge scale.

The access lane: athletes in their own words

1. Club Shay Shay

Shannon Sharpe, a former NFL player, interviews athletes, celebrities and influencers about their careers and challenges. The page shows about 2,000 episodes, a 4.8 score from 7,539 raters and an Explicit tag.

Visible episodes run from about 29 minutes to just over an hour, with most between 45 minutes and an hour. It updates weekly.

It suits listeners who want a long conversation with one guest. Skip it for game-by-game breakdowns. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

2. Club 520

Former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague and DJ Wells share stories from his career and talk about sports and culture. The listing counts 780 episodes and says new ones drop weekly.

Recent episodes run roughly 47 minutes to 1 hour 28 minutes. The rating is 4.7 from 1,507 ratings, so it is a smaller, newer crowd than the giants on this list.

It suits basketball fans who like a locker room feel. It is less useful if you want deep tactics. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

3. New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce

Brothers Jason and Travis Kelce discuss the week’s NFL games, share insider views, trade jokes and host guests. Wondery publishes it, and new episodes arrive on Wednesdays.

The Apple page counts 223 episodes and shows a 4.8 score from roughly 17,000 raters. Recent episodes run from 1 hour to just under 2 hours.

It suits fans who want insider talk with family humor. Expect to set aside a block of time. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

The analysis lane: pace, depth and a clear point of view

4. The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny

Mina Kimes discusses the NFL with humor and insight, and a friend joins each episode. Her football-loving dog, Lenny, makes frequent contributions, according to Apple.

ESPN, Omaha Productions and Mina Kimes are listed as creators. Recent episodes run from about 1 hour 1 minute to 1 hour 33 minutes, and the show updates weekly.

It suits football fans who want to understand the game, not just hear takes. It is also a good way to learn the sport. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

5. The Bill Simmons Podcast

Bill Simmons hosts a rotating crew of celebrities, athletes and media figures. Apple describes it as the most downloaded sports podcast of all time, a claim from the listing, not one I could check.

Recent episodes run about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 37 minutes. The rating is 4.4 from 29,769 ratings, the lowest of the seven, which suggests a more divided audience.

It suits listeners who like sports mixed with pop culture and long, loose talk. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

6. Stick to Football

The Overlap’s original series features Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Jill Scott and Roy Keane, with special guests. It covers soccer, which Apple calls football.

The page counts 162 episodes, a weekly update and recent episodes of about 47 minutes to 1 hour 43 minutes. The 4.5 rating comes from only 116 ratings, so treat it as a small sample.

It suits fans of the English game and the Premier League. It is a weaker fit for American football fans. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

The banter lane: the comedy floor

7. Pardon My Take

Barstool’s Big Cat and PFT Commenter host a daily sports talk show with comedic takes, guests and recurring segments such as picks and previews. Apple lists 926 episodes in its About section and 910 in the episode list.

Recent episodes run about 2 hours 56 minutes to 3 hours 31 minutes, making it the longest show on this list. The rating is 4.8 from 82,172 ratings, the most ratings of the seven.

It suits fans who want sports as background for a long, funny listen. It is a poor pick if you only have a short commute. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Which sports podcast fits you?

 

What brands can learn from sports podcasts

Sports podcasts are a good case study for business shows. Fans listen for hours and come back every week, so these teams solve a hard problem: how to stay interesting at length.

• Pick a lane. Each strong show here makes one promise and keeps it. A mixed promise confuses new listeners.
• Use two voices. Five of the seven are built on a pair or a panel. Two hosts give you contrast, which makes long talk easier to follow.
• Keep a rhythm. Most update weekly, and one is daily. A steady schedule builds a habit.

Our B2B podcast best practices guide turns these ideas into rules for business shows. For the full budget view, see the cost of a B2B podcast.

The Clip Channel Trap is a mistake to avoid. A show is cut into short clips so heavily that the full episode becomes an afterthought. Clips should lead people to the long form, not replace it.

Video and clips: where sports audiences actually are

YouTube said in 2025 that over a billion people a month watch podcasts there, though it did not define the term. Sports shows are among the most watched podcasts on video platforms. A figure from Edison Research’s Infinite Dial 2026, covered by Tubefilter, shows why: 80% of Americans 12 and over have now listened to or watched a podcast.

For brands, the lesson is practical. Film the recording, edit the full episode for audio and cut a handful of short clips for social feeds. A careful editing workflow lets one session produce all of it.

If you want a team to run that process, a production partner can handle recording, editing and clips. Our podcast production services page lays out what that includes.

How to follow a sports show without falling behind

Long shows can feel like homework. A few habits make them easier to keep up with.

Start with one recent episode, not the first one. Sports talk is tied to the season, and old episodes can feel dated. Use the back catalog only after you know you like the hosts.

Match the show to the time you have. A 30 minute commute fits Club Shay Shay’s shorter episodes. A three hour show like Pardon My Take fits a long drive or a workday. Play long episodes at a faster speed if your app allows it, and use the chapter marks when they exist.

Finally, cap your subscriptions at a number you can actually keep up with. Following more than four or five weekly shows means you will fall behind on all of them. Pick one per lane and drop the one you skip three weeks in a row. Dropping a show is not a failure. It is how you keep the habit alive for the shows you love.

What I cannot tell you

I cannot say which show has the best takes. Opinions change weekly, and ratings reflect fan scores, not accuracy. A few figures on Apple, such as the claim of most downloaded, come from the show itself.

My advice is to pick one show from each lane that fits your week, listen to one recent episode and keep the one that earns a second. If you enjoy these lists, our guides to true crime podcasts and comedy podcasts use the same method.

Conclusion

A good sports podcast makes one promise and keeps it. Pick a lane first: access, analysis or banter. Then pick a show whose latest episode is recent.

Pick a show from the table and play one recent episode this week. If your company is planning a show, book a call and our team will help you find your lane.

Strategy-first. Production second. Growth always.

Sources

• Castos, Best sports podcasts (checked Oct 13, 2026)
• Riverside, Best sports podcasts (checked Oct 13, 2026)
• Shortlist, Best sports podcasts (checked Oct 13, 2026)
• Apple Podcasts, Club Shay Shay (checked Oct 12, 2026)
• Apple Podcasts, Club 520 (checked Oct 12, 2026)
• Apple Podcasts, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce (checked Oct 12, 2026)
• Apple Podcasts, The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny (checked Oct 12, 2026)
• Apple Podcasts, The Bill Simmons Podcast (checked Oct 12, 2026)
• Apple Podcasts, Pardon My Take (checked Oct 12, 2026)
• Apple Podcasts, Stick to Football (checked Oct 12, 2026)
• Tubefilter, Edison Infinite Dial 2026 report (Mar 20, 2026) (checked Oct 12, 2026)
• Apple Podcasts, Tea with A & Phee (dropped, last episode Oct 2021) (checked Oct 12, 2026)
• Apple Podcasts, The Lowe Post (dropped, last episode Sept 2024) (checked Oct 12, 2026)