After an unfortunate series of events, Maria Taylor and ESPN mutually cut ties.
Back in July, the New York Post reported Maria and the network were not seeing eye-to-eye while negotiating a raise for her salary. The network reportedly offered her a $4 million dollar raise and Maria declined, seeking to match the salaries of the highest-paid analysts who rack in about $8 million annually.
On top of that, a few weeks ago the New York Times revealed a leaked audio clip of fellow analyst Rachel Nichols rudely suggesting she was not given the NBA Finals job because ESPN “was feeling pressure” about the network’s “crappy longtime record on diversity.” Maria Taylor didn’t stoop to her level in response and instead shared an empowering message on her Instagram.
The joint statement released on Wednesday announced that the two parties ultimately could not come to agree on the terms of Maria’s contract extension, and thus would be going separate ways.
ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro released a statement saying, “There is no doubt we will miss Maria, but we remain determined to continue to build a deep and skilled talent roster that thoroughly reflects the athletes we cover and the fans we serve. While she chose to pursue a new opportunity, we are proud of the work we’ve done together.”
Maria is rumored to already have a move to NBC in the works.
Check out some reactions to the news as soon as it began to trend below.
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