What ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro told employees of layoffs while leaks ran rampant — including mid-show debacle

ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro explained in an internal memo that most of Tuesday’s layoffs are due to redundancies following the Worldwide Leader’s $3 billion purchase of NFL Network in January. ESPN and its parent company, Disney, absorbed the contracts of NFL Network talent in a merger that began on April 1. “Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN,” Pitaro wrote in a memo to staff, obtained by Front Office Sports. “Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future. Jimmy Pitaro, Chairperson of ESPN, attends the 2026 ESPY Awards at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York on July 15, 202