As soon as Maria Taylor’s contract with ESPN was up, she immediately inked a deal with NBC Sports — and exited to the left.
Taylor found herself at the center of controversy after a recorded conversation between ESPN’s Rachel Nichols and a fellow peer was leaked online.
Nichols whined that Taylor was just a diversity hire in the recording after she was snubbed for the NBA finals hosting gig last summer. She was speaking to LeBron James’ advisor Adam Mendelsohn.
“I wish Maria Taylor all the success in the world — she covers football, she covers basketball,” Nichols said in July 2020 via the New York Times.
“If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else. You are not going to find it from me or taking my thing away.”
Taylor’s exit likely means that she had some very strong feelings about the way that ESPN handled Nichols’ white tears — but despite the media frenzy, she remained quiet and negotiated herself a better deal.
Reports suggest that Nichols sought at least $5 million for her new contract and that ESPN offered to increase her salary to at least $3 million.
“Incredibly excited to have the opportunity to work with Pete, Molly, Sam, Fred, and the entire NBC Sports family,” Taylor said in a statement released by NBC. “Literally, hosting the Olympics, Football Night in America, and the Super Bowl is what I dreamed of when I started in television – and this would not be possible without standing on the shoulders of all of those who came before me and made this path possible. And I plan to pay it forward.”
She deserves it all.
