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NFL Network says goodbye to long-time veterans in shocking lay-offs

Siciliano was NFL Red Zone host from 2005-2022 while on DirecTV. Selva was co-host of Good Morning Football, which is on hiatus until August

ByScott Alan Salomon|
NFL Network placed Melissa Stark and others on waivers on Thursday. Stark will continue to work on NBC's Sunday Night Football.
NFL Network placed Melissa Stark and others on waivers on Thursday. Stark will continue to work on NBC's Sunday Night Football. | Ethan Miller/GettyImages

The NFL Network, rumored to be bought out by ESPN, starting cleaning house and trimming payroll on Thursday as it announced that Andrew Siciliano, Melissa Stark, James Palmer and Will Selva have all been terminated by the Network, according to a report issued by Andrew Marchand of the Athletic.

The biggest surprise has to be Siciliano who was the host of the NFL Red Zone on the Sunday Ticket, until YouTube purchased the rights before last season. Siciliano also hosted special events for the network and was one of the faces of the NFL. The Red Zone was not as good last year without Siciliano and will obviously not feature him in 2024 or beyond.

"“As is normal course of business this time of year, we are evaluating our talent roster for the upcoming 2024 season and beyond,” NFL Network spokesperson Alex Riethmiller told The Athletic. “That process results in renewals, non-renewals and additions to our talent lineup depending on programming needs. To those departing talent, we give our sincere thanks and appreciation for their hard work and contributions to NFL Media.”"
Alex Riethmiller, NFL Network Spokesman

Stark, who doubles as a sideline reporter for NBC's Sunday Night Football basically worked for the NFL on an as needed basis and served on special event coverage. Palmer, for ten seasons, was as an accurate reporter as you will find covering the NFL. Their talents will be missed.

Selva is an intriguing story, He was a co-host of the popular morning show "Good Morning Football" which recently announced that it was leaving New York for the NFL's Los Angeles Studios. The program just wrapped last week until August when the show will begin production from the West Coast and without Selva.

Longtime contributors to the show, including Peter Schrager, Kyle Brandt and Jason McCourty have not indicated if they will remain with the show and make the trek out west. Jamie Erdahl has already indicated that she will make the move and will anchor the program.

As I mentioned earlier, the NFL has been in talks to sell the Network and other NFL Media assets to ESPN in an equity swap. We will know more prior to the start of the 2024 season. This story was originally stated by The Athletic.

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