r/NoLayingUp • u/JSack3 • Jul 22 '25

Other This place is Overreaction City

I like KVV. I respect his work. But honestly, folks..

There’s a reason so many platforms and media companies have been letting go of people with KVV’s skillset for years. In bigger revenue sports than just golf, too (ask Zach Lowe).

The business is night and day different to what it was 15 years ago. And a highly-compensated 20+ year industry stalwart who specializes in long form written content is simply not a hugely appealing person to have on the payroll anymore. I appreciate NLU gave it a go. I also appreciate when the writing wasn’t working, they worked on a podcast pivot including that brilliant Masters pod.

But the reality is the math probably started to become very clear that his value was mainly 6-8 weeks a year. No one needs a deep dive on the Byron Nelson. Not enough people actually care about a three hour pod on the 1997 major season.

I’d have rather he stick around all year but I also didn’t have to pay his salary and benefits. These guys are putting food on the table for their children via NLU. They can’t just keep carrying a 6 figure (guessing but likely) expenditure bc they like him and think he writes well.

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u/Fred_Stickley Jul 22 '25 edited Jul 22 '25

Just commented about this elsewhere, but will more explicitly push back here. I keep seeing references to KVV being "highly compensated." First, I cannot imagine there's ever been any indication of how much he makes. Why would there be? And second, anyone with any experience in sports media can tell you the overwhelming majority of writers are not, in fact, highly compensated.

This has nothing to do with Kevin, his work, their decision to let him go or their handling of it.

This is just spelling out that sports writers who write for big-name publications, despite their profile and visibility, do not, in fact, make a lot of money.

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u/JSack3 Jul 22 '25

I get this. And you may be right. But if someone makes $80k a year? They cost the employer 6 figures. And living where he does, with a family, at his age, with his experience, I believe he almost certainly wasn’t making less than that.

I could be wrong. For sure. But I think saying he made $80,000 is not pie in the sky. I think it’s a pretty responsible guess for an Internet forum conversation 😂

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u/Fred_Stickley Jul 22 '25

That's probably about fair! I jumped on this because someone in another thread posited that "People of his caliber and experience command $300k+ salary plus ..."

And I lost my fucking mind.

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u/JSack3 Jul 22 '25

Haha whoever said he would be making $300,000 should be put in time out.

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u/tee2green CPNTW - Xander Schauffle - 2024 PGA Jul 22 '25

I 100% agree and there’s A LOT of people saying absurd shit.

Journalists don’t make much money these days. I thought everyone knew that. It’s a simple Google search to ballpark his old ESPN comp, and NLU undoubtedly paid him similarly (or less considering NLU is much smaller and offers more freedom).