On Friday, Sports Illustrated made further cuts, letting go of several long-standing writers, which has left some notable names absent from its lineup.
Reports indicate that between 10 to 15 employees will lose their jobs, including columnist Mike Rosenberg, NFL writer Greg Bishop, and MLB writer Stephanie Upstein.
“Just eight days away from my 15th anniversary at Sports Illustrated, I found out I was part of the group being let go,” Upstein shared on X. “I genuinely enjoyed my time at SI, and it’s heartbreaking to see it come to an end. I hope to do my best work elsewhere in the future. Thank you for your support.”
Bishop also reflected on his experience, saying, “As a kid, my dream was to write a cover story for Sports Illustrated. I cherished every moment over the past 12 years. Now, I find myself on the curb, with a sign that says ‘Write for Food.’
Rosenberg, in his first post on X in quite a while, expressed his gratitude humorously. He noted, “I had my favorite kind of meeting this morning: a brief one. I got fired, but hey, life is filled with trade-offs. A few hours later, the sun is shining, and I’m still on this strange platform.” He added, “As a child, I wanted to write for Sports Illustrated, and I’m thankful I got to do that for 14 years. At least now, I can skip the press meals at next month’s U.S. Open. Life has been kind to me.”
These layoffs coincide with ongoing struggles at the publication. Minute Media, the current owner, has plans to cut 12% of its global workforce.
Sports Illustrated has faced ongoing challenges for years. Originally a part of Time Inc., which gained independence in the ’90s before merging with Warner Communications, it was later bought by Meredith Corporation. They attempted to sell SI when they moved from a weekly to a biweekly format.
In 2019, the intellectual property rights were sold to Authentic Brands Group, which then entrusted publishing rights to The Arena Group (previously TheMaven), shifting to a monthly release schedule.
After Arena failed to meet its substantial payment obligations to Authentic in 2024, the publishing rights transferred to Minute Media in a 10-year deal.
