Longtime 'SportsCenter' anchor leaving ESPN as staffing changes continue

Front Office Sports's Michael McCarthy reports that Neil Everett, a staple on ESPN's "SportsCenter," is leaving the network after 23 years.

Everett joined the network in 2000 after working local television in Hawaii. He quickly became one of the most-liked anchors on the network, seamlessly picking up on the trendsetting humor and jocularity that historically defined "SportsCenter" from its inception and into the 2000s. When ESPN set up studios in Los Angeles in the latter part of the 2000s, Everett and Stan Verrett moved west, helping give the late-night "SportsCenter" a far more real-time feel for sporting events that took place on the left coast than the shows made back in Connecticut.

ESPN has been trimming staff as a response to cord-cutting and shareholder pressures, with on-air talents either not having contracts renewed or being asked to take less in salary. Per McCarthy:

One source said Everett was offered a new deal at a reduced salary — and turned it down, similar to Kenny Mayne in 2021. Another said his contract was not renewed. In 2021, Mayne told Richard Deitsch of The Athletic that ESPN offered him a 61% paycut.

Verrett, who was Everett's main co-anchor, tweeted appreciation for his soon-to-be former colleague.