ESPN announced 20 on-air personalities would be let go on Friday as part of the company’s latest round of layoffs, with Andrew Marchand reporting the purpose of this round was to cut some of the highest-paid on-air talent to avoid any further cuts to behind the scenes employees.
As the day wore on, names began to trickle in, mostly via Marchand, first with a pair of longtime NBA on ESPN mainstays in Jeff Van Gundy and Jalen Rose, with ESPN heading into the 2023-24 season needing to revamp its lead broadcast booth and NBA Countdown desk lineup. Max Kellerman and Keyshawn Johnson, whose ESPN Radio morning show with Jay Williams had been cut recently, were also named as cuts. Kellerman’s This Just In program that he was given after being taken of First Take was being replaced with The Pat McAfee Show in the fall, while Johnson was among the high-salaried analysts on the NFL side who was now without a daily show presence after the radio show got cut.
Later in the afternoon, one of the biggest surprises of the day came when Suzy Kolber announced she was among the layoffs, posting a message to Twitter about her “good run” at ESPN over 27 years. Kolber has long been one of the faces of ESPN’s NFL coverage, doing sideline for Monday Night Football for nearly a decade before taking over as host of Monday Night Countdown in 2015, among various other roles on ESPN.
Today I join the many hard-working colleagues who have been laid off.
Heartbreaking-but 27 years at ESPN was a good run.
So grateful for a 38 yr career!
Longevity for a woman in this business is something I’m especially proud of.
Next step- a project that gives back.
pic.twitter.com/URitozP0LQ
— Suzy Kolber (@SuzyKolber) June 30, 2023
Kolber’s status as a legend at ESPN indicated how ruthless this round of cuts was at the network, while also raising eyebrows with regard to what may be to come with ESPN. Letting go some big names on the NFL side when their new, 10-year deal with the league is just beginning this fall seemed particularly odd and signaled a sizable shift in the network’s coverage of the sport.
The NFL and NBA sections weren’t the only ones impacted, as baseball writer and analyst Joon Lee likewise announced he was among those laid off after four years with the network.
My time at ESPN is over
Incredibly grateful for all the opportunities I received over the last four-plus years. I got to live out my literal childhood dream job, worked with some of the most talented people and made so many friends.
Really excited to see whatever comes next
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) June 30, 2023
Marchand also reported SportsCenter anchor Ashley Brewer was part of the layoffs. There are still a number of these layoffs yet to be made public, and based on some of the massive names being let go, it’s possible we see some more fan favorites leaving ESPN as a dreadful Friday at the network continues.