Nicole Auerbach is an American sports journalist, presenter, and college athletics insider for The Athletic, covering college football and basketball. She is the lead college football insider for NBC Sports and also a host of SiriusXM programming.
Auerbach has covered college sports nationally since 2011 and has earned a name for reporting on coaching changes, conference realignment, athlete compensation, NIL, and the evolving business of collegiate athletics. She was the youngest-ever winner of the National Sportswriter of the Year award from the National Sports Media Association in 2021.
| Net Worth: | – |
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| Real Name: | Nicole Auerbach |
| Birth Date: | June 19, 1988 |
| Age (as of 2026): | 38 Years |
| Hometown: | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Height: | – |
| Parents: | – |
| Husband: | Jeff Kemp |
Early Life
Nicole Auerbach was born on 19th June 1988, and she is 38 years old as of 2026. She grew up in a home touched by both Jewish and Catholic traditions. Her father is Jewish and her mother is Catholic. “Thanksgiving has become a big family tradition for me, as it brings both sides of my family together,” Auerbach has said.
Her family has always been a significant aspect of her life. She has a brother whose wedding was held in 2024. Auerbach has also reminisced warmly about family reunions and the customs that brought together relatives from both sides of her family. Auerbach received a bachelor’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan in 2011.
In college, a fellow student urged her to pursue sports writing, and she joined The Michigan Daily. Her professional objectives were altered, and she was led to journalism. She would become one of the few women covering sports for the student newspaper at the time.
Career
Nicole Auerbach did a number of journalism internships early in her career. Those moments helped her land a full-time job at USA Today after graduating. She started out covering college sports and slowly built a national name for herself reporting on football and basketball.
Auerbach has been covering college sports professionally since 2011. She spent six years at USA Today before joining The Athletic in 2017. At The Athletic, she covered college football and basketball, working her way up to senior national writer. Nicole Auerbach also was a studio commentator for the Big Ten Network and has a radio show on SiriusXM.
Her reporting received significant attention as college athletics experienced substantial structural changes. Nicole Auerbach covered conference realignment, the College Football Playoff, coaching changes and player transfers, as well as NIL policies and the expanding financial power of broadcast contracts.
Her work often put her in the center of arguments that would shape the future of big-time college athletics. Auerbach was the USBWA Rising Star Award winner in 2018 and 2020. The prizes honored her efforts as a young journalist covering college basketball. In 2021, the National Sports Media Association named her National Sportswriter of the Year.
She was the youngest individual to receive the national award. Auerbach joins NBC Sports in 2023 as the network’s leading college football insider. Her first venture into Big Ten programming gradually grew to encompass college basketball and other college sports. She departed The Athletic in August 2024, after seven years at the outlet, and transitioned to full-time at NBC Sports.
Her duties were enhanced further in 2026. Auerbach made her NBC Olympics debut at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, serving as a cross-country skiing and ski jumping and Nordic combined events reporter. She also served as NBC Sports’ anchor for international swimming tournaments since 2025.
She also continues to make appearances throughout NBC Sports programming in college football and co-hosts the Rushing the Field podcast with former Ohio State linebacker Joshua Perry. Her reporting in 2026 has included the expansion of the collegiate Football Playoff, conference concerns, NIL initiatives, and the shifting laws around collegiate eligibility.
Personal Life
Nicole Auerbach married sports announcer Jeff Kemp on May 17, 2025, in Cape May, New Jersey. The couple had previously gotten engaged in 2024. The wedding was at Congress Hall, and the reception was at Congress Hall. They honeymooned in the Maldives and then lived in Chicago. Kemp is a host for DraftKings.
Auerbach has occasionally given insights about her life beyond journalism. She enjoys traveling and golfing and has played in charity golf tournaments. In 2026, she played in the Golic SubPar Classic and Chris Long’s Waterboys event. Her interests are still firmly planted in college athletics and the business struggles of athletes and universities.
Social Media
Nicole Auerbach is active on X, where she is @NicoleAuerbach and has almost 143,000 followers as of September 2026. A native of Chicago, she mostly uses the site for breaking news, analysis, reporting, and opinion on college athletics. Her professional and personal updates can be followed at @nicole_auerbach on Instagram. She has a public LinkedIn page with over 2,000 followers.
Nicole Auerbach Net Worth
Nicole Auerbach has not publicly disclosed her salary, assets, or personal net worth. Some unauthorized sources estimate her net worth to be about $1 million, but there is no independently verified financial proof for those numbers. Hence, they ought to be viewed as provisional rather than conclusive.
Most of her revenue comes from her job at NBC Sports as a broadcaster and reporter, SiriusXM as a presenter, podcasting, speaking engagements, and her former work with The Athletic and USA Today. Her television job and national fame also allow for appearances and professional speaking. Exact contract values and yearly earnings are kept confidential.
