Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis is yet another victim of the ESPN layoffs. The Sporting News reports that Bettis who appeared on NFL Live, SportsCenter and ESPN Radio was one of the 100 writers, reporters, analysts and anchors who were let go.
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Bettis joined ESPN in 2013 after he was with NBC Sports and Football Night in America as well as NFL Network.
According to the Sporting News, neither ESPN nor Bettis would confirm his dismissal, but he has not appeared on the network since the layoffs were conducted. It adds to the NFL staffers who have been laid off including Ed Werder, Trent Dilfer, Jade McCarthy, Ron Jaworski, Merril Hoge, Britt McHenry and Sara Walsh.
With so many NFL analysts on ESPN, you may not have been aware that Bettis was on the network, but it does leave several NFL staffers still at ESPN. And there are those who have yet to make their layoffs public.
Bettis is yet another name in the ESPN layoffs. If he wants to remain in TV, he’ll have to move to another network, but as with many of the contracts, ESPN will pay those laid off not to work for the duration otherwise, they’ll have to work on other beats or sports until the contracts expire.
The layoffs have not discriminated from those who have worked at ESPN for decades or like Bettis, just a few years. It’s a tough time at the Worldwide Leader and it’s likely going to continue for a while.