Suzy Kolber Details 39% Pay Cut and ESPN Exit After 27 Years

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 10

Suzy Kolber said on a podcast that ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro warned in 2023 that her name was on a layoff “whiteboard,” prompting her to go home and tell her daughter she thought the firing was coming.
The 62-year-old former “Monday Night Countdown” host said she “lost it” when an executive later told her not to disparage ESPN or risk losing the final year of her contract, after she had already accepted a 39% pay cut.
Kolber said the hardest part was the lack of acknowledgment for her 27 years at ESPN, where she said she helped launch ESPN2, the X Games and major NFL programming.
Her June 2023 layoff came in a 20-talent cut that also included Steve Young, Max Kellerman and Jalen Rose, as ESPN trimmed salary and had other anchors available for its NFL studio roles.
Kolber has since moved to Scripps Sports Network, where her new interview series “The Originals” is set to debut Sept. 15 at 8 p.m.