It’s a sad day for fans of classic sports television as longtime ESPN anchor Kenny Mayne has announced he has been “cut” by the channel.
For nearly three decades, Kenny Mayne has been one of the most recognizable faces and voices in sports. Joining intelligence with comedy, the 61-year-old came up in the heyday of ESPN and SportsCenter in the 1990s.
On Monday, May 10, the longtime broadcaster announced the news via Twitter.
“I am leaving ESPN. Salary cap casualty,” Mayne wrote. “Thanks for the opportunity Vince Doria & Al Jaffe & for taking my solicitations Herman/Stinton/Lynch. I will miss the people. I will miss the vending machine set up over by the old Van Pelt joint. We had everything. IntoTheGreatWideOpen#”
It’s maybe not the best time to read into the message, but the “I will miss” section definitely doesn’t list the ESPN brand. Rather, he mentions the people and a moment involving fellow ESPN legend Scott Van Pelt.
Like, Mayne, Scott Van Pelt also came up through ESPN in the 1990s. While SVP spent considerably more time on SportsCenter over the years, Mayne popped up on the channel in a variety of ways.
Kenny Mayne and ESPN’s Last Contract
Back in 2015, Kenny Mayne and ESPN signed a contract to keep him around. However, the deal all but cut out anything that the broadcaster was doing outside of SportsCenter.
His Wider World of Sports show was cut out in a contract in 2013, as well as his work on horse racing. 2015’s contract was essentially more of the same, locking him down to SportsCenter, per the Hollywood Reporter.
At the time, Mayne offered appreciation for the contract.
“Happy to be back for more. It beats real work,” Mayne said. “I fly to L.A. for a week, watch sports and make up words. Sometimes I literally make up the words. Pure gibberish. But Stan [Verrett] and Neil [Everett] seem to get me.”
That quote perfectly sums up Kenny Mayne’s public demeanor and broadcasting style. Expect another major network or brand to want to pick him up quickly.
