ESPN Fires Jalen Rose
The hits just keep on coming, I guess. Moments after the news of Jeff Van Gundy being let go by ESPN, another heavy hitter is also getting laid off. It appears ESPN is making sweeping changes to their NBA coverage and Jalen Rose has been fired by the company.
The NY Post was also the first to report this news:
“ESPN has let go of NBA Countdown’s Jalen Rose, The Post has learned.”
“Rose, 50, had been on ABC/ESPN’s top NBA broadcast for a decade, which was especially impressive because of the amount of changes the network has made over that time.”
“ESPN had reduced Rose’s role at the network after his daily program with David Jacoby was canceled at the end of 2024.”
Speaking of Jacoby, it felt like this day was inevitable after he left ESPN a while back. When that show with Jacoby ended, Rose was probably always on the names that could be on the chopping block. Remember, ESPN is trying to cut costs after they just splurged on the Pat McAfee show. Rose appears to be one of several names to get axed today.
Rose, 50, was one of the original hosts of ‘Get Up’ when ESPN first created that program in 2018. Rose reportedly carried a $3 million per year salary while working for ESPN. The post also reports that Kendrick Perkins, JJ Redick and Richard Jefferson were just bigger priorities to keep and I can’t blame them for feeling that way.
Rose doesn’t really bring much to the table outside of trying to match loud mouth energy when he’s on First Take with Stephen A. ESPN previously removed Rose from the NBA Countdown set which should have really been seen as the writing on the wall.
More names are coming. The fiscal year starts July 1st. Rose won’t be the last name to go today.
