Jay Williams is staying at ESPN despite the cancelation of his radio show earlier this year. Williams announced the news via social media on Friday morning.
“I hope all of you guys are ready. Sit back, relax, get your popcorn ready. Because it’s about to get crackin’,” Williams said. “And there are more announcements to come.”
ESPN canceled Keyshawn, JayWill and Max earlier this year as part of a downsizing effort that hit ESPN Radio especially hard. Since then, both Keyshawn Johnson and Max Kellerman have left the network. Williams had not announced his future, but many had figured he might be gone as well, especially after some of his own comments on his future (with his contract up this summer) and on the end of that show.
Now it appears Williams will remain at ESPN. Beyond his radio work, he’s also appeared on First Take and NBA broadcasts there in the past.
As far as building his own platform is concerned, Williams previously collaborated with Kevin Durant’s Boardroom media venture to create a show of the same name for ESPN+. His new projects could be similar to the business deep-dive programming on The Boardroom or something else entirely.
Williams often pulls from his own past as an athlete who struggled with career-altering injuries and financial strife. He has pushed back strongly on other ESPN hosts, including Stephen A. Smith, over their treatment of athletes. So it’s a strong bet his new project at ESPN will be focused on athletes and their perspective.
Williams also hosted a premium podcast for NPR with guests including Brian Flores and Megan Rapinoe. But that show has not released a new episode since last October.
[Jay Williams on Twitter]
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.