As time passes, more and more layers continue to be peeled back in the scandalous story involving New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and his alleged affair with The Athletic’s former NFL reporter Dianna Russini.
One of those layers has included a peek behind the curtain into Russini’s salary with The New York Times, which has become a topic of conversation this week.
The Masses Are Flabbergasted by Dianna Russini’s Salary
The Athletic was purchased by The New York Times in 2022 for a whopping figure of $550 million, and Russini had blossomed into the face of the publication. A recent article from the New York Times uncovered a myriad of details, including the $800,000 salary that Russini was reportedly earning.
The 5,000-word story, published by Katherine Rosman and Ken Belson, was a tell-all feature jampacked with details. The exorbitant annual figure that Russini was making with The Athletic was simply a minor footnote in the grand scheme of it all, but it has become a talking point nonetheless.
In the eyes of some, it really isn’t a lot of money in comparison to some of Russini’s peers. Jared Stillman, who hosts the “Stillman and Company” show on YouTube Monday through Friday, was surprised that she wasn’t making even more than that.
“The value of the insider is to have somebody perpetuate the rumor cycle so that shows like this one, and all of the shows on ESPN, and all of the others can run with it and say, ‘Okay, Adam Schefter is reporting the Titans are interested in locking up Peter Skoronski; what should that contract be?’ And then it gets bigger, right?” Stillman said.
“Let’s say one of these insiders who has the credibility — Rapoport, Schefter, Russini, Breer, Pelissero — let’s say one of them puts out there that Joe Burrow is unhappy with the Bengals, may look for a trade at the end of the year. That’s gonna blow up,” he added. “Every show is gonna talk about it. Every team, every city, what does our team need to do to get Joe Burrow? It’s all about the clicks and the recognition and everything else.”
$800k a year for Dianna Russini?!
The value of the insider is to spread gossip so all the studio shows that exist OUTSIDE of the games have something to talk about.
I’m actually shocked that Dianna wasn’t making more or that ESPN wouldn’t have kept her for $800k. pic.twitter.com/FeZAhlgqLu
— Jared Stillman (@JaredStillman) June 24, 2026
Russini made the decision to step down from her job at The Athletic amid a flurry of controversy. There was never a day when her name wasn’t mentioned in the tabloid or trending on social media.
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In doing so, it’s difficult to envision that she’ll ever be able to return to the sports journalism field in any capacity without pushback or contention. All the credibility she had built and sustained over the years may have been wiped away in an instant.
She was typically on the front lines when it came to reporting that players were unhappy with their respective teams, whether that was due to their roles or their contract situations. To be able to spread that kind of gossip, you have to have the trust of your audience.
“It’s a dirty game, it is what it is,” Stillman said. “But you have to break the news at some point for people to think you have the credibility that you can also spread gossip.
“I say all of that because, again, I think those guys make millions. I think Schefter makes $9 million dollars a year. If Schefter’s making $9 million, and Rapoport’s making in the millions, and all of these guys are in the millions, $800,000 isn’t really that big of a deal.”
While Russini stepped down from her job, Vrabel attended counseling and missed the third day of the NFL Draft earlier this offseason. The perception around both of them, however, has been altered significantly.
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Before he led the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance last season, Vrabel spent six years as the Tennessee Titans’ head coach. He led them to three consecutive playoff berths, including an AFC Championship Game appearance in 2019. However, when seven-time Pro Bowl receiver Julio Jones became available from the Atlanta Falcons following the 2020 season, it’s believed that Russini helped chill his market.
She reported that the Falcons were offered a first-round pick for Jones, prompting teams interested in acquiring the wideout to back off because they didn’t want to pay that price. That didn’t end up being the case, and the Titans would later acquire Jones and a sixth-round pick for a second-round pick and a fourth-round pick.
There’s also speculation that Russini was behind much of the drama between A.J. Brown and the Philadelphia Eagles over the past year, with her being responsible for reporting the majority of it. The tension would ultimately culminate in a fractured relationship between the Eagles and Brown, setting the wheels in motion for a trade to Vrabel’s Patriots earlier this month.