OT: ESPN Layoffs are coming for On Air talent

CNN Money: ESPN layoffs to hit on-camera personalities

In the end, it was inevitable. You can only sign so many mega deals to get tv rights for professional leagues and collegiate conferences while annually hemorrhaging money before the piper comes calling. Announced yesterday, ESPN will begin a long round of layoffs that will take place through June that will primarily impact the On Air talent we see on a regular basis. From the sounds of it, any talent that is due for a contract renewal this year is likely gone. On top of that, we are going to see some others who potentially still have many years left on their deals cut as well.

It will be interesting to see who gets cut. The last round of layoffs, while primarily hitting upwards of 300 behind the scenes talent, also saw the ousting of Keith Olbermann and Bill Simmons. This round is expected to be much different, and the network will have a much different look this time next year with the proverbial thinning of the herd.

Whats more interesting is that what could be a blood letting for ESPN could be a desperately needed lifeline thrown the way of Fox Sports. Their viewership numbers have been terrible since the inception of the network a couple years ago, and while the addition of Skip Bayless actually provided a bit of a ratings bump over the last year, it still hasn't been enough. However, with the coming possibility of some popular names being on the market, this could provide an opportunity for the network to get some firm ground under their feet and establish some credibility in the marketplace where they currently have none.

Another potential impact could be in the upcoming 2017 coaching carousels, especially in college basketball. There are some guys currently employed by ESPN, we know one of them intimately well, who aren't too long out of the game and could fall victim to this layoff and end up being right back in the game next season. It'll be interesting to see how these situations bubble up over the coming weeks and months.