In the short term, one of the most significant aspects of ESPN’s acquisition of NFL Network is what happens to the on-air talent and production staff at the formerly league-owned network.
Some obvious questions, such as who will make up ESPN’s No. 2 broadcast booth or whether the Worldwide Leader will keep both of the top two NFL insiders, have already percolated around the industry. But ESPN has tons more decisions to make beyond that, as ESPN and NFL Network often directly compete with studio shows and event broadcasts.
According to Front Office Sports, Disney and ESPN are not expected to conduct any immediate layoffs.
Existing NFL Network staff will officially become Disney employees on April 1. From that point on, per FOS, ESPN will make decisions on the futures of new staff when their existing contracts expire. NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport recently revealed that his contract expires in May, which is common in football media given the sport’s calendar.
But employees under contract for more than one year are expected to remain safe for the duration, per FOS.
Among the additional overlaps between ESPN and NFL Network are the networks’ broadcasts of the NFL Draft. ESPN has blown out coverage of the draft in recent years, with two desks’ worth of coverage and a special edition of The Pat McAfee Show. On the NFL Network, Rich Eisen has anchored coverage for years.
Both networks also produce Sunday-morning pregame shows, despite neither airing games on Sunday afternoons. The Eisen-helmed NFL GameDay Morning competes with the Mike Greenberg-hosted Sunday NFL Countdown.
Additionally, Good Morning Football airs on NFL Network from 8-10 a.m. ET, opposite Greenberg’s Get Up.
That’s not to mention the game production team at NFL Network that is joining a live sports behemoth at ESPN. Plus, the administrators and other staffers often fall victim to corporate mergers and acquisitions.
ESPN will likely want to make cuts over time, but it seems they will not bring the hammer down immediately.