ESPN is spending nearly $250 million combined on four guys: Adam Schefter, Adrian Wojnarowski, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman

New York Post

NFL insider Schefter and NBA insider Wojnarowski recently re-signed for hefty paychecks, with Schefter raking in $9 million a year over five years and Wojnarowski earning $7 million a year over the same span of time. In all, ESPN is spending $80 million on its two most prominent insiders. That's on top of ESPN recently agreeing to pay $165 million for Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to join Monday Night Football. "ESPN has just spent around $250,000,000 on four sports media personalities. A quarter billion! So what is ESPN doing?" says the New York Post's Andrew Marchand. "ESPN is trying to ward off the emerging platforms, the other major networks and the digital entities in an increasingly crowded space. There is an argument to be made against the excessiveness of the money spent – it is deliciously ridiculous – but if you have the dough, why not shop at the top of the market? You know, be 'The Worldwide Leader in Sports.'"