Jeff Van Gundy, Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson Out Amid ESPN Cost-Cutting

ESPN’s Jeff Van Gundy, Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson, Jalen Rose and LaPhonso Ellis are among a group of around 20 on-air personalities being cut as part of an effort to generate “millions” of additional cost savings by the sports network.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed the affected talent were being notified Friday they will no longer appear on ESPN’s platforms, all of whom are currently under contract extensions.

The person noted that those individuals will receive a full payout allotted under their contract and that they could renegotiate the terms of their contract if they are able to find a new opportunity to go elsewhere and do other work before their contract expires.

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An undisclosed number of ESPN employees were previously impacted during a wave of layoffs in April under a restructuring led by returning Disney CEO Bob Iger. That restructuring is designed to cut $5.5 billion in costs, including a total of 7,000 employees.

At the time, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said that another wave of notifications would be completed by the start of the summer for employees who are not in front-facing talent roles.

The individual emphasized that Friday’s on air-talent cuts were not a directive from Disney. Instead, the network decided to dip into its talent pool in an effort to prevent additional non-talent layoffs.

“Given the current environment, ESPN has determined it necessary to identify some additional cost savings in the area of public-facing commentator salaries, and that process has begun. This exercise will include a small group of job cuts in the short-term and an ongoing focus on managing costs when we negotiate individual contract renewals in the months ahead,” the company said in a statement. “This is an extremely challenging process, involving individuals who have had tremendous impact on our company. These difficult decisions, based more on overall efficiency than merit, will help us meet our financial targets and ensure future growth.”

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