ESPN fired two of its on-air personalities recently. RG3 will no longer be part of the network’s college football coverage or ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown; Sam Ponder will no longer host Sunday NFL Countdown. According to ESPN, these decisions were simply part of a larger cost-cutting business strategy. OK, I can understand that – – except – – ESPN also said that the balance of the two contracts would be honored. So, I do not understand how those two firings reduce costs in any way. But I am not an ESPN accounting maven, so what do I know? Maybe if either Griffin or Ponder gets a job on some other network/station, there are offset clauses that might kick in?
Reports said that Griffin was making “seven figures” at ESPN and still had two years to go on his contract; Ponder was at the start of the final year of her deal at ESPN reportedly making $3M per year. What I find interesting is the timing of this decision. The college football season dips its toe in the water this weekend and goes into full-blast mode in 10 days; the NFL kicks off on September 5th which is two weeks from tomorrow. That seems to me to be cutting it awfully close with personnel changes to several of ESPN’s more important programs.
Sunday NFL Countdown is the more interesting situation from my perspective. That program has a good history with the network; Chris Berman was the anchor there for years until ESPN replaced him with Suzy Kolber and then Sam Ponder. Berman and Kolber were synonymous with ESPN coverage of football; Ponder began her career there with some very rough edges, but she worked through them and has been a solid presence on the program for a couple of years. And now she has to be replaced in a couple of weeks and the new cadre of “talkers” on the program will have to figure out their new pecking order live and in person. Strange…
There was lots of speculation about who might replace Ponder on the show; ESPN announced early this week that Mike Greenberg would take over her seat at the table. I like Mike Greenberg, and he certainly has a boatload of experience as someone who orchestrates/facilitates a panel driven program. What I worry about is that Mike Greenberg is being spread very thinly:
- Greenberg hosts Get Up! five days a week on ESPN. The program is live and is two hours long.
- Greenberg hosts Greeny on ESPN Radio five days a week. The program is live and is two hours long.
- Greenberg hosts the NFL Draft coverage for ESPN. That assignment is only once a year, but it is a major time commitment for him in terms of preparation and in terms of time on the air.
- And now he gets the seat at the head of the table for Sunday NFL Countdown …
One report I read said that Greenberg’s contract with ESPN earns him $14M per year. The network is getting its money’s worth for that deal.
Moving on … After the Boston Celtics won the NBA Championship a couple months ago, the majority owner of the team announced that the team was up for sale. That sort of juxtaposition is unusual to say the least but there is always something to be said for “selling high” in the business world. And then earlier this week there was a report at CBSSports.com that unnamed officials within the NBA are hoping that the Celtics sale will be for $6B. Say what…?
About a year ago, the Washington Commanders sold for $6B. I understand that the Celtics are one of the most valuable franchises in the NBA along with the Lakers and the Knicks but $6B …!! Steve Balmer bought the Clippers for $2B ten years ago; Matt Ishbia bought the Suns for $4B two years ago. Yes, the Celtics are more valuable than the Clippers and/or the Suns and yes, there is a new TV deal for the NBA that is about to kick in at stratospheric levels. But is an NBA team worth the price of an NFL team? If I had $6B to spare in my bank account, I know which league I would be buying into.
The latest report I read on this matter says that Bill Simmons has floated the idea that Jeff Bezos has a “real interest” in bidding for the Celtics. Forbes says that Bezos’ net worth is $199.5B meaning that even if Forbes has overestimated that wealth by a significant fraction, Bezos does have $6B to spare rattling around in his bank account. Bezos was also rumored to have been interested in buying the Commanders last year but chose then to stay on the sidelines.
Simmons offered an explanation why NBA officials want the Celtics to go for $6B. His explanation is that the NBA is about to expand by two teams very soon after the new TV deal kicks in and the league wants the expansion fee to be $6B apiece for the two new franchises. There are 30 teams in the league now; if expansion brings in a total of $12B, that means each current owner will get approximately $400M from the two new owners. So, there is indeed motivation on the part of the league to get the Celtics top dollar in the marketplace.
Where might two new NBA franchises emerge?
- Seattle would seem to be a mortal lock here.
- Las Vegas is a strong contender. However, the addition of two teams that must be in the NBA Western Conference might be problematic.
- Mexico City is a dark horse. It would give the NBA another “international team” which is clearly part of the NBA’s strategic planning.
If I could wave a magic wand, I would find a place for an NBA team to play somewhere convenient to Tidewater, Virginia and convenient to the Research Triangle in North Carolina. But as I said above, I do not have a spare $6B in my bank account.
Finally, since today has dealt with ESPN cost cutting and with $6B NBA franchises, let me close with these words from Sen Everett Dirksen (R-IL) related to government spending:
“A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking real money.”
But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………
I thought RG3 was a cut above most of the bland football analysts on ESPN. I hope he does catch on with another network.
It would certainly be interesting to know what algorithm ESPN uses to make hiring and firing decisions. They have shown the door to a lot of good people the past couple of years.
Gil:
I think RG3 was his free-wheeling/flamboyant self on TV – – which is what made him stand out from other ESPN talking heads – – because he already has generational wealth and does not need a broadcasting career to keep the wolf away from the door.
As to Sam Ponder, I see that there are reports that attribute her firing to her outspoken position on transgenders competing in women’s sports. It seems that she believes that it undermines Title IX and that it is unfair to have biological males competing against women. Without commenting on my position on this issue, I would say that I think a contributing factor might be Rex Ryan’s obvious feeling that he has to be the prettiest one on the panel and Sam Ponder moved him down to second!
Gary:
Rex Ryan will certainly be prettier than Mike Greenberg – – as Ponder’s replacement.