Because the Los Angeles Lakers coaching search became a prolonged saga this NBA offseason, featuring multiple bids for high-profile candidates in other businesses, money became a central focus.
While reigning back-to-back NCAA champion Dan Hurley was thought to be potentially using the Lakers as leverage in talks with UConn, the Lakers, in return, seemed to lowball Hurley compared with other top NBA coaches with a $70 million offer.
Yet, ESPN senior NBA writer Brian Windhorst believes new Lakers coach JJ Redick is walking away from even more money than Hurley would have in leaving his lucrative broadcasting career.
In the latest episode of his podcast, The Hoop Collective, Windhorst reported on a conversation with an NBA source who believes that between Redick’s company, ThreeFourTwo Productions, and his salary at ESPN as a top NBA game analyst and talent on First Take and NBA Today, Redick was making more than the $5-plus million Hurley makes at UConn annually.
“Dan Hurley turned down $70 million and we were all going to the calculators about like what it cost to live in Connecticut versus what it cost to live in L.A., and JJ has a very powerful media career,” Windhorst said. “Not only that he had this great job at our company, ESPN and ABC, his podcast … that is lucrative.”
Redick produces his show The Old Man & the Three himself and coproduces Mind the Game with LeBron James alongside James’ Uninterrupted production house.
“I was talking to somebody in the business just this week, and he told me that Mind the Game, had it continued into next year with LeBron and JJ, would potentially be an absolute cash cow,” Windhorst added. “The point that they were making is that JJ Redick may earn more money than Dan Hurley does. In fact, I don’t think even think maybe, they were saying that JJ Redick earns more money than Dan Hurley does. So what you’re asking JJ Redick to leave from a financial situation isn’t any different than what you were asking Dan Hurley to leave.”
Redick also produces several other podcasts through ThreeFourTwo, including Richard Jefferson’s Road Trippin‘ NBA show, Macrodosing at Barstool Sports, and Trey Wingo’s Alternate Routes with Wondery. Redick’s partnership with Wondery appears fairly sizable, with ad-free versions of all his shows available on the platform in addition to the coproduced podcasts. Redick also produces exclusive content for DraftKings and is part of the gambling company’s stable of talent, appearing on in-house productions like Golic & GoJo as well as local radio shows that DraftKings sponsors.
So Windhorst’s source may in fact be onto something. The salary figure for Redick’s Lakers deal is not public yet, but the team reportedly signed him for just for years. For most NBA coaches, five-year deals are customary.
Despite the significant media infrastructure (some of which, on the production side especially, Redick could continue), Windhorst maintained that Redick is thrilled about the opportunity.
“He wanted this job,” Windhorst said.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.