Ed Werder reported on the NFL for ESPN for 17 years, but that wasn’t enough to save him for the network’s doomsday in which hundreds of employees were suddenly laid-off or bought out:
After 17 years reporting on #NFL, I’ve been informed that I’m being laid off by ESPN effective immediately. I have no plans to retire
— Ed Werder (@EdwerderRFA) April 26, 2017
Mind you, Werder, a veteran & well-respected member of the NFL media was let go mere days before the “Super Bowl of the offseason”, the draft.
So it had to be a bit of a surprise when ESPN came back to Werder asking him to do some draft-day coverage for the network, in what I’m assuming would’ve been some sort of freelance work.
Werder shared the weird experience, while making an appearance on ‘The Doomsday Podcast‘:
“When they finished telling me I was laid off, they said this was effective immediately,” Werder said. “And the next thing they told me to do as a former employee of ESPN was stay and cover the Saints’ draft, which seemed like an odd way to begin your unemployment.
“But it seemed like it was my option, and I chose not to. I just didn’t feel like it was the right place for me to be, alone in a hotel room and then out in public as a former employee, representing ESPN with the New Orleans Saints.”
I’d liken this to breaking up with your b/f or g/f, only to come groveling back to them a day later; NOT to ask for them back, but to ask them out for an important dinner because none of your new stock can measure up to impress.
Though it might have been kinda cruel to ask Werder to ‘get back to work’ after devastating him and turning his life upside down, it was actually a part of the agreement the network has with him & many others.
Even though he won’t be appearing on ESPN anymore, as long as Werder doesn’t take a full-time job elsewhere ESPN will continue honoring his contract for it’s duration. Asking him to do some ‘freelance’ work for them is perfectly within their rights.
Apparently, if I want to continue being paid by ESPN for the duration of my contract, they will not allow me to work in television or other media without risking all that they owe me,” Werder said.
That’s a pretty smart agreement on the part of ESPN. They can basically hold their ex-workers hostage long enough to keep them out of the talent pool while they replace them. That strategy also keeps salaries down, as surely the highest profile employees, like Werder will have agreements similar to this.
Werder closed his appearance on the podcast by questioning ESPN’s new direction & the viability of the company overall:
“It’s not the quality of your work that’s a factor,” Werder said. “Well, it causes me to wonder, what is ESPN about? Because I mean, I thought it was about news and information and highlights, and I’m not sure that is the point of emphasis any more. How is ESPN going to cover the NFL without all of the people who just lost their jobs?”
ESPN will have a line of people to replace personalities like Werder, but the question remains: Will the massive loss of experience & clout that comes with that experience be too much for the network to handle? Past situations cause me to lean toward no, but make no mistake; we haven’t seen a hemorrhage of top network talent, at one time, happen like this with positive results.
We’ll have to wait & see.