Is there another job out there waiting for Rachel Nichols? She is free to find out.
The former host of The Jump and NBA Countdown is officially a free agent after finalizing a settlement with ESPN according to The New York Post.
Last year was a tumultuous one for Rachel Nichols. She complained about being passed over for NBA Finals assignments in favor of Maria Taylor in a private conversation that was recorded without her knowledge. On the recording, Nichols can be heard saying that she believed Taylor was chosen because she is Black.
Rachel Nichols apologized for the comments, but it didn’t make much of a difference. ESPN first pulled her off of all her playoff assignments in July before ultimately removing her from NBA programming entirely the following month.
According to Andrew Marchand, Nichols made “in the neighborhood of $1.5 million to $2 million per year” at ESPN. It will be very interesting to see if there is a market for her services that dictate that kind of paycheck now that some see her as “damaged goods.”
For what it is worth, it seems that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver had more criticism for ESPN’s handling of the situation than for Rachel Nichols. He has also noted that he doesn’t “anyone’s career should be erased by a single comment”.
