Layoffs slowly have been unfolding at ESPN. Most have involved names not recognizable to the average sports fan.
Soon, that likely will change.
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports that layoffs of on-air “talent” are expected toward the end of June.
Per Marchand, the precise timing is “subject to change,” given that the situation is “fluid.”
Currently, the suits are going over the names of potential victims of the coming cuts, with names being added and removed from the list.
Per Marchand, the folks who are likely the most at risk “are the ones who make a lot and don’t work that much.”
Marchand specifically names Suzy Kolber and Steve Young as being potentially out, with Laura Rutledge “probably” filling Kolber’s Monday night pregame hosting duties, if Kolber goes.
ESPN has migrated to a star-driven model, with a small handful of on-air personalities making huge money. That means the systematic eradication of talents whose salary exceeds their current name recognition.
Kolber has worked at ESPN for most of the last 30 years, with a three-year break in the late 1990s, when she worked at Fox.