Diana Russini was bringing home bacon.
A former manager with knowledge of Mr. Russini’s income told the paper in a new report that the sportswriter was paid $800,000 a year working for the New York Times before losing his job in the Mike Vrabel scandal.
Russini was one of the highest-paid journalists at The Athletic, which was acquired by The Times in 2022 for $550 million.
According to the newspaper, “At the time this story broke, The Athletic was in talks to renew Mr. Russini’s contract, which was set to expire at the end of June.”
It’s not uncommon for sports reporters to earn high salaries. Russini’s men, Adam Schefter and Adrian Wojnarowski, once earned annual salaries of $9 million and $7 million, respectively, according to the Post.
When The Times contacted Ms. Russini in early May for comment on an article about the scandal, she cited the “intense scrutiny and personal attacks” she faced.
“This has had a huge impact on my life both professionally and personally,” she told the newspaper in a text message.
When Russini was informed that her comments would be included in the piece, she asked the reporter not to quote her comments from the text.
However, a NYT reporter told Russini that her comments would be published because she had not originally asked for them to be taken off the record.
Ms. Russini then contacted the publisher of the Athletic and two senior editors at the Times in an attempt to block her from speaking.
In April, Page Six published exclusive photos of Vrabel, 50, and Russini, 43, holding hands and hugging each other at a luxury resort in Sedona, Arizona.
The New England Patriots head coach and sportscaster, who are both married to other people, denied there was any romantic relationship between them and claimed other friends were with them at the resort, even though witnesses disputed their claims.
Russini was subsequently removed from The New York Times and subsequently resigned from his position as senior NFL insider at The Athletic.
Vrabel then announced that he would miss Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft to undergo counseling and focus on family and personal issues.
The next day, Page Six published an exclusive photo of the former NFL player and Russini kissing in a dimly lit New York City bar in 2020, six years before their Arizona resort vacation.
At the time, Mike was already married to his wife, Jen Vrabel, and Russini was scheduled to exchange vows with her current husband, Shake Shack executive Kevin Goldschmidt, just six months later.
After the photos were published, Russini deleted his social media accounts and Mike and his wife held an impromptu 24-hour marriage summit in Park City, Utah.
As of this month, the NYT investigation into Russini is still ongoing.
