A week after the shocking announcement that he was retiring from his role as an NBA insider at ESPN, Adrian Wojnarowski was officially introduced as the general manager of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team on Wednesday.
The 55-year-old reportedly gave up a $20 million salary at ESPN to take the job with his alma mater, but he’s not worried about the ramifications in the slightest.
“I retired from ESPN and from the news industry, but this is no retirement job for me,” he said. “I only feel like I’ve gained in this, I don’t feel like I gave anything up.”
Woj said he was involved with the school in the creation of the GM role when he realized it might be something he’d like to do for himself.
“That sounds like a lot more fun that what I’m doing right now,” he said.
Adrian Wojnarowski reflects on his decision making process over the past several months:
“Around this time of year at ESPN, someone there would invariably ask me, where do you want to be for the opening of NBA training camps?
This year they asked me if I wanted to be in Boston… pic.twitter.com/VfuEMF8Lgy
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) September 25, 2024
The former ESPN reporter said that the goals of his job are to help St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt succeed so that the program is “standing shoulder to shoulder with the best programs in college basketball” but also to “keep us pursuing meaningful March basketball, keep us sending players to the NBA and the top leagues all around the world and, most importantly, graduating with degrees and experiences that prepare them for a life beyond the game.”
NIL will be a huge part of his role with the Bonnies and he understands how it is necessary to attract the players that can help him and Schmidt achieve those goals.
“Nobody gives you good players, just like nobody gives you a story as a journalist,” Wojnarowski said. “You work for them, you earn them… To recruit those great players and to retain the great players that we have on campus today, you need NIL. And I’ve worked with coach and his staff for a few years on that important endeavor.”
Just like in his previous role, Woj has been working the phones, though this time instead of breaking stories he’s trying to line up opportunities with sponsors and other entities.
“Since our announcement last week, I’ve been absolutely blown away with the incoming opportunities coming our way from national sponsors and entities who want to be in the NIL business with St. Bonaventure basketball,” he said. “Game-changing opportunities to help us recruit and retain our student-athletes.”
In the meantime, Woj likely gave the Bonnies a huge boost simply by coming to work for them and not one of college basketball’s blue bloods.
“Guys, we got Woj,” Schmidt said. “If Woj put his name in the portal, it would be a Kansas, Carolina, and Duke. This is a grand slam.”
We look forward to seeing how the final Woj Bomb turns out.
