There have been a ton of media cuts, layoffs, non-renewals and more in 2024 so far, and some prominent NFL Network figures are the latest moving on. As per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, NFL Network’s latest personnel changes are impacting at least four notable on-air faces:
News: On-air personalities Melissa Stark, Andrew Siciliano, James Palmer and Will Selva are all out at NFL Network, a source tells @AndrewMarchand.
The trimming at the network continues.
Details ⤵️https://t.co/qW4JZ9M4wl
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) April 4, 2024
Siciliano was particularly known for hosting the DirecTV version of NFL Red Zone (Scott Hanson hosted the NFL Network-produced one available through other providers), but that came to an end with last year’s Sunday Ticket move to YouTube TV, leaving just one Red Zone hosted by Hanson. However, Siciliano was a prominent regular host for network coverage, including at the combine and draft, and he’ll certainly be a notable absence for NFLN going forward.
These other cuts are significant too. Stark had held a number of roles at NFL Network, including hosting feature series NFL 360 and appearing on their big event coverage. (She also works as the sideline reporter for NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and that role is unaffected by this cut.) Palmer was a noted national reporter for the network for almost a decade, while Selva held different roles, including news updates on Good Morning Football (which has its own further uncertainty ahead with its move to the Los Angeles area).
Palmer posted a farewell to the network on Twitter/X:
Some personal news. NFL Network has bought out my contract and my time there has come to an end. It was a dream job and I loved every minute of it. And that’s mostly because of the people that I got to work with and the friendships that will last well beyond any “job”. I’m…
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) April 4, 2024
Here’s the full text of that:
Some personal news. NFL Network has bought out my contract and my time there has come to an end. It was a dream job and I loved every minute of it. And that’s mostly because of the people that I got to work with and the friendships that will last well beyond any “job”. I’m excited for what’s to come. Not sure what that is exactly, I’ve learned a lot in the last decade at NFL Network and I’m better for it.
Here’s NFLN comment on the moves from Marchand’s piece:
“As is normal course of business this time of year, we are evaluating our talent roster for the upcoming 2024 season and beyond,” NFL Network spokesperson Alex Riethmiller told The Athletic. “That process results in renewals, non-renewals and additions to our talent lineup depending on programming needs. To those departing talent, we give our sincere thanks and appreciation for their hard work and contributions to NFL Media.”
As Marchand notes, this comes amidst uncertainty for NFLN overall. In particular, there are ongoing talks about the NFL taking a stake in ESPN and transferring the network and its other media assets to ESPN as part of that. That seemed to take a bit of a hit with the NFL’s “shocked, shocked”
