More Cuts at ESPN

Maybe Jon Gruden really will take that job at Tennessee.

 

I have a cousin whose husband worked for GM in their international division. They lived in Melbourne for some years. She says that Australian Rules football is the very sport for women fans who enjoy hunky male eye candy on TV.

 

Good luck getting the guys who made real money in the NFL to do that. They're still used to being stars.

For all of the ripping of ESPN (and I've been a part of it), I also see that the landscape is constantly changing in the industry. For all of the times we all talk about how great it was back with Dan/Keith, Kilborn or Berman in the 80s, that's exactly what it was... a necessity.

Now that sports highlights are not a necessity to wait for as they're all "on-demand", ESPN has this huge time slot to fill. Far cheaper to fill with three people yelling at each other. The E-60 work I've found to be outstanding. Their 30 for 30s are quite solid.

 

It's a market based economy like it's always been. I imagine most people that like being on TV after well-paid NFL careers would do it for less. Granted, some probably require significant pay after realizing too late that their NFL lifestyle isn't sustainable in retirement, but others just enjoy remaining a part of the league and reminding people that they played and it may help their outside gigs as well. I believe most already have segued into side gigs in addition to their TV work. Rod Gilmore of ESPN is an attorney as is Steve Young. Many host radio shows, do local sports, Chris Weber has an investment company, David Pollack has a sports banner business, Jay Walker is a state legislator in Maryland and CEO of a financial services company.

 

On the Ringer today, from Bryan Curtis, a long article on what people from the last round of layoffs are up to now: Life After ESPN

 

Is his own boss quoted?

 

Simmons was let go way before then, so, no.

 

I was kidding of course. An interesting read, something a lot of us can relate to. The Paul Kuharsky stuff was sort of sad though:

Titans fans treat Kuharsky as theirinsider, the portal to Marcus “The Boss” Mariota. For $5.99 a month, they can read all the articles on Kuharsky’s site. For $150 a month, they can be part of an elite group that Kuharsky calls his “Starting 22.” Kuharsky will invite you to dinner and give you his phone number and let you add him to your golf foursome and welcome you into a “circle of trust” where he is liable to reveal stuff that is too interesting to print. Basically, you get to be Paul Kuharsky’s friend.​

“People were making fun of me and stuff, but [The Starting 22] sold out in two days,” Kuharsky said. He won’t reveal how many $5.99-per-month members he has, arguing that some observers might think the number was small and that, in turn, would insult his readers. “I don’t want to do anything that’ll make them feel small,” Kuharsky said. “I want to make them feel big.”
​

First off, how do you sell out of that Starting 22? That wreaks of bullshit.

I get it, some guys can’t envision doing anything else, but that’s really stretching things. I guess he’s making it work, though he sounds defensive.

There were no sob stories about unemployment, which is Jayson Stark’s fault, bc dammit all, bitch a little, will ya.

 

If he's giving those people the kind of inside access he's talking about -- join a foursome? -- he'd definitely be looking to set a limit.

 

That whole thing is just...weird. I can’t imagine anyone I know wanting to add a football beat writer to their golf outing, and I know some diehard freaking fans who would abandon their families on thanksgiving to go see their team play. Glazer or Peter King, maybe. A beat guy for the freaking titans? Bizarre. Then again, he’s probably more likely to talk out of school now that he’s, well, out of a steady job.

 

Calvin Watkins seemed a little out of touch, but that's probably only because he hadn't looked for a job in the industry in years.

Perspective employers surely didn't think he made $2 million a year at ESPN. But yes, they probably figured he'd be too expensive. Most beat writers making more than $60K are often deemed "too expensive" in today's market, so most publications would rather get a kid who'll work for much less.

 

I wonder how his willingness to talk with his clients like this will impact how much sources will share with him. “No, I won’t publish that, but I’ll bring it up on the golf course Saturday.”