Since joining ESPN in 2014, Maria Taylor has performed well in a number of roles for the company, but her time with the comapny is starting to dwindle down to the point where she won’t even be available to finish out the NBA Finals with her contract expiring.
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post said last month that the College GameDay and NBA Countdown host reportedly turned down a salary increase from nearly $1 million to roughly $5 million per year during the pandemic last year. “Taylor, sources said, was hoping to be in the “Stephen A. Smith money” neighborhood, which is near $8 million annually,” Marchand wrote.
Now, ESPN is preparing to offer her $3 million in hopes she’ll re-sign with the company, per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
“ESPN has a contract on the table for Taylor in the neighborhood of $3 million per year, The Post has learned,” Marchand said. “The deal represents roughly a 300 percent increase from her current $1 million per year.”
Taylor has been talk of the NBA Finals after being involved in the controversy surrounding Rachel Nichols and her comments made during last year’s NBA bubble.
If Taylor chooses not to re-sign with ESPN, the Worldwide Leader in Sports will be down one of its key sports media members if the NBA Finals extend to Game 6 and beyond. Game 6 is July 20th, which is the same day her contract expires.
