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Longtime ESPN SportsCenter Anchor Let Go After 20 Years

Originally posted on The Spun | By Kameron Duncan | Last updated Feb 4, 2025 5:50 PM ET

As ESPN continues to cut costs and prioritize different shows and sports at the network, a longtime anchor on ESPN Radio has lost their job.

On Sunday, Kevin Winter posted on social media that his contract would not be renewed due to "cost-cutting” measures at the company.

Winter had just completed his 20th year with ESPN, beginning as a SportsCenter anchor and studio host. He worked on several different sports during his time at ESPN, and notably performed play-by-play duties for college football games.

“I have been informed due to ‘cost-cutting’ my contract was not being renewed. I’ll let you all discuss the idea of a multibillion-dollar corporation needed to cut my small 6 figure salary in order to keep the lights on," Winter said in his message.

I'm out at ESPN Radio pic.twitter.com/fisRAl0tP3
— Kevin Winter (@KevinPWinter) February 2, 2025

He explained that losing his position was harder to deal with than losing both of his parents, and pointed out that he had been with ESPN since the day of the 2004 Kentucky Derby.

"A play by play announcer I have worked with for a long time says I'm the best at what I do...in the country. Well, if that's the case, the number 1 studio host in the country is a free agent," Winter added.

The move is the latest in a long line of changes within and around ESPN Radio over the last few years.

Mike Greenberg announced that he would be leaving his mid-afternoon radio slot after five years of sporadic appearances, and Clinton Yates would be taking over his spot after the Super Bowl.

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 28: ESPN logo on a camera cover prior to the UFL football game between the St. Louis Battlehawks and the DC Defenders on April 28, 2024, at Audi Field in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Lee Coleman/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

“We went into it with the intention of trying to make the radio show work, but something had to give, just in my schedule,” Greenberg said, noting that he was spread thin with all of his other duties and responsibilities at ESPN.

“I just couldn’t do it. And unfortunately, it turned out to be this.”

ESPN has laid off several radio personalities as it tries to shift its focus to the emerging and constantly growing podcast market, which has all but replaced traditional talk radio.

We'll see what the future holds for Winter, but it's clear that in an ever-changing sports media landscape, the strategy moving forward at ESPN involves less of an investment in legacy platforms like sports radio.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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