ESPN Might Be Laying Off a Huge Star After Ending a Popular Morning Show
This could signal the beginning of ESPN's on-air changes.
ESPN might be letting go of a future star.
Disney’s (DIS) - Get Free Report sports network decided to move on from its national radio morning show, “Keyshawn, JWill and Max,” according to the New York Post.
While the show’s cancellation doesn’t mean the three hosts -- Keyshawn Johnson, Jay Williams, and Max Kellerman -- are out of the network, Kellerman is in “jeopardy,” while the future of Johnson and Williams are “in flux,” according to the same report.
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The move comes as ESPN continues a long wave of layoffs that started in April. CEO Bob Iger returned to Disney in late 2022 and planned to cut 7,000 jobs within ESPN’s parent company.
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ESPN has let go of several high level and tenured employees cut from the off-air team, including Mike Soltys, Vice President of Communications, who worked with the company for over four decades. But there have been reports that the on-air team is not safe too, sans for a few of its biggest names like Stephen A. Smith and Scott Van Pelt.
Some of these on-air talents are still in the middle of their deals -- like Johnson, who signed a four-year deal worth $18 million last year -- but could reportedly be bought of those contracts.
Despite the expected layoffs, ESPN still spent on new on-air talent recently, poaching Pat McAfee from FanDuel Tv with a contract that is reportedly worth $85 million over the next five years. McAfee is expected to join the network this fall.
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