ESPN not expected to renew Bomani Jones' contract

Bomani Jones, a longtime commentator for ESPN, won't have his contract renewed by the network, according to a report from Front Office Sports.

Jones had signed an extension with ESPN last year to continue hosting his podcast. He had previously co-hosted "High Noon" with Pablo Torre and was prominently featured on some of the network's afternoon talk shows like "Highly Questionable" and "Around the Horn." He had a diminished TV presence on ESPN in recent years, leading him to host "Game Theory" on HBO for two seasons. That show was officially canceled in June — likely as part of cost-cutting initiatives from Warner Bros. Discovery — despite critical praise.

Jones was one of several Black and minority personalities whose star rose in the late 2010s when ESPN was under the leadership of John Skipper, who was more willing to let on-air and online talents discuss politics, race, gender and other topics that were often kept out of sports television coverage despite their influence in the business and fandom of the games. Under Jimmy Pitaro, the edict changed dramatically, at times at the sacrifice of those talents.

One can easily assume that this decision is in concert with Disney's own company-wide reductions. In March and June, there were two rounds of layoffs at ESPN that included several prominent contributors such as NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy, radio and TV host Max Kellerman and Suzy Kolber, who was synonymous with the network's NFL coverage for nearly 30 years. Others such as Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Chelios, boxing legend Andre Ward and "SportsCenter" anchor Neil Everett left or also had their contracts not renewed.