The NBA and sports media worlds were shocked last month when the news that ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski would be retiring from reporting to become the GM of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball program.
Decisions like that don’t happen in a vacuum and they don’t often happen overnight. And in the month since, we’ve learned a bit about how this Woj Bomb was in the works for some time.
Matt Kramer, co-head of CAA Sports’ media group, has been Wojnarowski’s agent since he renegotiated his contract with Yahoo Sports and through his ESPN tenure. He sat down with Puck’s John Ourand to discuss the decision and how it all happened.
Sunday Conversation: Co-head of CAA Sports media group Matt Kramer joins to give an inside look at how Woj’s retirement unfolded, the changing landscape for on-air talent and what media networks prioritize these days when hiring.https://t.co/QGKAbE2OUj
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) October 13, 2024
“Adrian and I talked briefly in the beginning of the summer just about whether or not he had what he knew it took to be the absolute best for the remainder of the contract, which, as everybody knows, is two, three more years,” Kramer told Ourand on the latest episode of The Varsity. “Adrian wanted to take some time to really make sure if he was going to return for the 24-25 season. And beyond that, he was only going to do it in the way he knew how to do it, which is by giving it 100% every single day. And he said to me, ‘I will not cheat ESPN, I won’t cheat the consumers. I’m not going to do this job unless I know I have it in me and want it in me to be the absolute best and give it everything I can every single day.’
“And that’s no different than premium athletes and the absolute best. A colleague of mine said it best. He said, ‘I can’t imagine a world where LeBron James wakes up and says, I want to keep playing for the Lakers only to average eight points a game.’ My assumption is LeBron wants to play for the Lakers and average 30 points a game.”
Kramer said that when Woj made the final decision, he received nothing but support from ESPN brass.
“Where the credit really goes, and I really believe this, a lot of credit goes to Jimmy Pitaro and Burke Magnus,” he said. “You know, they received word from Adrian that he wanted to retire. And the way that they handled it from the minute Adrian told them to, even to this day, has been really exceptional. They’ve been nothing but supportive of him. They want him to always be a part of the Disney family, whether that’s as a consultant to them or in some way, somehow, find a role for him long term, to at least be a member of the team, but not in the capacity that he was in over the last seven or eight years, which is as the premium news breaker.
“My philosophy from the very beginning was Adrian Wojnarowski determines what he wants to do every day, and I will be there to support him however I can as not just an agent, but certainly as a friend.”
You can listen to the rest of the episode, in which Kramer also discusses the changing landscape for on-air talent and what media networks are prioritizing when making hires, here.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.