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ESPN didn’t waste much time finding a replacement for Adrian Wojnarowski by hiring his longtime rival Shams Charania to replace its longtime NBA scoop machine, and The Worldwide Leader is reportedly saving millions of dollars a year thanks to that changing of the guard.
In September, Adrian Wojnarowski dropped his final Woj Bomb when he announced he’d decided to step away from the career that made him famous to step into an advisory role for the men’s basketball team at St. Bonaventure (his alma mater) after working as a sports journalist for more than 30 years.
The 55-year-old initially rose to prominence during his time with Yahoo Sports while cementing himself as the NBA’s most prominent insider, as his Twitter account was an invaluable source of breaking news for fans trying to keep tabs on trades, signings, and other notable transactions he had a tendency to find out about before anyone else.
It was only natural that ESPN poached him from the outlet in 2017, and his decision to leave that life behind created a void the network quickly set out to fill while exploring the possibility of having Jeff Passan pivot from baseball to basketball and tapping Adam Schefter to transform into a “Super Insider” who keep tabs on the NFL and the NBA.
However, they ultimately decided to go with what seemed to be the most obvious choice: Shams Charania, who was taken under Wojnarowski’s wing at Yahoo in the mid-2010s before going from his protege to his rival as he attempted to come for the crown.
It doesn’t appear there’s any lingering tension between the two men when you consider Woj threw his full support behind Shams after the hiring was announced, and while Charania may be stepping into the role his former mentor held at ESPN, his new employer isn’t shelling out as much cash as it paid for his predecessor.
According to the paid newsletter John Ourand pens for Puck, ESPN is saving a ton of money now that Charania has come aboard, as he spoke to some insiders of his own who say Shams is making “less than half” of the $7 million Woj was getting paid for what is essentially the same role.
That’s a bit surprising when you consider there’s really no one who can come close to competing with the 30-year-old now that Woj is out of the game, but he’ll also have the chance to prove he deserves to make more in the coming years after kicking off the newest chapter of his career.