Maria Taylor has become a familiar face for NFL fans as the host of Football Night in America, where she sets the stage for Sunday Night Football each week.
Before joining NBC, Taylor worked her way up at ESPN, eventually becoming the host of NBA Countdown in 2019.
Just two years later, she left ESPN abruptly following a controversy involving fellow on-air personality Rachel Nichols.
Here’s a look back at Taylor’s exit from ESPN and the events that led up to it.
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Why did Maria Taylor leave ESPN?
Taylor left ESPN in 2021 following a breakdown in contract negotiations and a controversy involving then-colleague Rachel Nichols, who implied in leaked audio that she believed Taylor was given a hosting gig by the network because of her race.
Before the Nichols audio leaked in July of 2021, reports already indicated Taylor and ESPN weren’t seeing eye-to-eye in contract negotiations. The New York Post reported ESPN had significantly reduced her contract offer from the previous year, clouding her future with the network.
Shortly after the audio of a conversation between Nichols and another individual leaked, Taylor decided to leave ESPN. She joined NBC two days later.
Taylor said in a TikTok video in 2024 that ESPN was her “dream job” but moved to NBC when she “had the opportunity to really decide what [she] wanted to do for [her] life moving forward.”
Taylor said she questioned if ESPN “was the best place” for her and wanted an opportunity that would allow her to spend more time with her family.
“I also felt like the relationship had ran its course,” Taylor said. “And it’s so funny because when I was making my final decision, someone was making the case that, ‘Well if you leave here then you’ll never ever be on television again — like no one will ever see you again.'”
Of course, Taylor was seen again days later when she joined NBC’s Summer Olympics coverage.
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Maria Taylor-Rachel Nichols NBA Finals controversy
With Taylor’s future at ESPN already up in the air, a leaked call involving Nichols and Adam Mendelsohn, a longtime advisor for LeBron James, threw the ESPN host into a firestorm of controversy.
In the leaked audio, Nichols implied that Taylor’s “NBA Countdown” was chosen as the network’s pre- and post-game coverage for the 2020 NBA Finals over Nichols’ “The Jump” because Taylor is Black.
“If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it,” she told Mendelsohn.
Rachel Nichols: “If you need to give her more things to do because you are feeling pressure about your crappy longtime record on diversity — which, by the way, I know personally from the female side of it — like, go for it. Just find it somewhere else.” pic.twitter.com/aB5MifujuX
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 4, 2021
Nichols’ comments came on the heels of a year that saw a rise in racially-charged tensions in the United States. She was removed from her 2021 NBA Finals duties and officially left ESPN months later.
Taylor responded in vague terms three days after the audio leaked, saying she’s “taken some punches” but adding, “I’m still in the fight.”
During the dark times I always remember that I am in this position to open doors and light the path that others walk down. I’ve taken some punches but that just means I’m still in the fight. Remember to lift as you climb and always KEEP RISING ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ztSIx9CLpO
— Maria Taylor (@MariaTaylor) July 7, 2021
Nichols, meanwhile, said she was “deeply, deeply sorry” to Taylor in an on-air statement.
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Maria Taylor NBC contract
Taylor signed a multi-year contract extension with NBC in 2025, according to The Athletic, with the deal expected to take her “deep into the 2020s.” As part of the agreement, she became the studio host for NBC’s NBA and WNBA coverage.
Taylor’s salary at NBC has not been disclosed. She was reportedly making $1 million annually at ESPN before turning down an offer in the range of $5 million per year. In 2021, ESPN lowered its offer, setting the stage for her exit from the network.
As a central figure in NBC’s NFL, NBA, and Olympics coverage, Taylor is almost certainly earning a substantial salary.
