Linda Cohn says ESPN cut her salary by 80 percent: ‘Loyalty doesn’t pay’

Linda Cohn has talked a lot about " total freedom " since retiring from ESPN this June and starting her eponymous podcast shortly thereafter. The all-time record-holding SportsCenter host is certainly speaking freely about what really happened during her 34 years at ESPN, at least from her perspective.

This week, Cohn appeared on The Sage Steele Show for a lengthy conversation, largely about their past lives as colleagues at ESPN. (Sage Steele d eparted ESPN after settling a free-speech lawsuit in August 2023, having spent 16 years at the company.)

An hour in, Steele stated that the majority of her years were "awesome" at ESPN, while the remaining 10 percent was "devastating," with which Cohn agreed. Cohn disclosed memories of "sobbing in the ladies' room multiple times" from "dealing with people who made me feel like crap on the air."

"I did not understand, with the National Hockey League, I was one of few people that kept that damn sport alive on SportsCenter , and then I was cast aside," Cohn said, adding, "That hurt me. That really hurt me. They put me basically—and thank God I had Barry [Melrose] most of the time to host 'In The Crease,' when I should have been out there on the ice with those players, covering Stanley Cup Finals or being rink side. But after the first year and a half, I was cast aside, and suddenly, they didn't use me at all. And they just put me in that SportsCenter box."

Cohn clarified she wasn't complaining about hosting SportsCenter , and she said she "never got an answer" as to why ESPN didn't use her more directly for NHL-central coverage.

"The last year, technically, I was at ESPN, they cut my salary 80 percent after they closed the L.A. studio," Cohn said.

Cohn additionally noted that her colleagues working on the Los Angeles-based SportsCenter , which shuttered in May 2025 , received six weeks' notice to either relocate to the main Bristol campus or essentially become unemployed.

"At that point, my deal was up, and I was like, 'I'm not gonna let them rush me into a decision,'" Cohn said. "And I didn't end my tenure that way. So I accepted their 80 percent pay cut."

Cohn said she spoke to ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, and while she thought "the call went well," she felt ESPN's actions showed otherwise.

"I actually signed a deal that [said], OK, Linda, you can do 15 events or appearances for us, but we're cutting your salary 80 percent," Cohn said. "Sage, loyalty doesn't pay because I'll tell you something. What people think I made, or if you google me and what I made, that's all incorrect. Trust me on that."

Ultimately, Cohn said, she did five events for ESPN and felt "out of sight, out of mind" until the contract expired in June. Cohn told Steele she still felt like ESPN pushed her out, saying, "They had no place for a Linda Cohn in their mind." Still, Cohn said, "it all worked out."

Cohn launched The Linda Cohn Show independently in July, and she officially partnered with Bleav in late September.

"For the first time, I'm not in a box," Cohn said of her podcast. "For the first time, I don't have a muzzle around my mouth. A gag! I was able to talk about how I was feeling about certain things. Now, it's a sports show. But it's a sports topical show. It's stuff off the court, off the field."