Rolling cuts at the NFL Network are continuing to hit big names. On-air personalities Melissa Stark, Andrew Siciliano, Will Selva, and James Palmer are out, The Athletic reported Thursday morning. A spokesperson for the league told the outlet that these cuts are a “normal” part of spring reshuffling.
Stark, who is also the sideline reporter for NBC’s Sunday Night Football, was an NFL Network host and reporter at tentpole events like the draft and the NFL’s annual awards show. Siciliano was a longtime RedZone host until YouTube took the rights last season. Selva contributed to Good Morning Football and cohosted the English-language podcast geared toward the Latino fan base, “El Huddle.”
Palmer, who was a national correspondent for the network, posted about the decision, saying, “NFL Network has bought out my contract and my time there has come to an end. … 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.”
The cuts come amid other changes at the network. Its flagship show, GMFB, broadcast its final show from New York last week before shipping off to Los Angeles, and it’s unclear how many of the hosts will make the move or what the new format of the show will be. The network has made staffing cuts related to the relocation, two sources told Front Office Sports last week. In early March, it was reported that about 60 staffers accepted the league’s voluntary buyout, per Sports Business Journal.
The league is in “advanced talks” to sell a stake in the media arm to ESPN in a complex deal, according to multiple reports from earlier this year.
It’s been less than a year since the network laid off an unknown number of employees in May 2023. The cuts drew criticism from Robert Griffin III on Front Office Sports Today: “It’s also difficult when you see the NFL broker a deal like the one with Peacock, where they’re making $110 million for one playoff game, and then saying, ‘We can’t pay the media to continue to support their families. We have to cut back on the amount of people being paid in those regards,’ when there are countless amounts of money that’s being made.”
