The New York Times published a lengthy report on Dianna Russini this week, revealing how much The Athletic was paying for her services. She was receiving close to $800,000 a year, making her one of the highest-paid journalists at the Times Company.
That number raised some eyebrows, including among people who weren’t exactly blown away by her track record.
The Revelations Reignited Debate Over Dianna Russini’s Reporting Record
Boston sports radio hosts Adam Jones and Rich Keefe shared their honest reactions to the salary revelation.
“She makes less than I thought, quite frankly,” Jones said. Keefe, while acknowledging the pay gap argument for women in sports media, said, “There’s a good case for women fighting to make more money; she’s doing the same job as those guys, why are they making so much more? Although she was wrong a lot.”
His criticism wasn’t purely rhetorical, as there’s a paper trail that backs up his claim. The most glaring example came in December 2019, when Russini, then at ESPN, reported that the Jacksonville Jaguars had told head coach Doug Marrone he would be fired after their season finale.
The team’s owner, Shad Khan, immediately had his spokesman dispute the report, saying it was “100 percent incorrect.” Tony Khan, the owner’s son, went further, calling it a “100% false report” and noting that nobody had ever told Marrone he was being let go.
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Marrone ended up holding on to his job for another full year before being dismissed after the 2020 season.
Jones brought up the incident directly in their conversation. “Do you remember the Doug Marrone one?” he asked. “She said Doug Marrone was fired and he had his job for a whole another year.” Keefe responded, “She was not great at it.”
Then there’s the Julio Jones trade in 2021. Russini reported that the Falcons had already been offered a first-round pick for Jones and called the Titans a “long shot” to land him, but Jones ultimately went to Tennessee for a second- and a fourth-round pick, not a first.
The framing of that reporting raised questions, especially given what we now know about her alleged relationship with Vrabel, who was coaching the Titans at the time.
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Beyond the bad scoops, The New York Times’ piece revealed a different kind of ethics problem. In January 2026, Russini was pulled over for texting and driving with her two young sons in the car.
Russini FaceTimed an NFL head coach from the side of the road, and he told the officer to let her go. She wasn’t ticketed, and she later told the story herself on a podcast. A Times Company spokeswoman called it “unacceptable conduct.”
