Mitsu Yasukawa / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The New York Times has revealed The Athletic was paying Dianna Russini $800K/year
It’s been over two months since Dianna Russini resigned from The Athletic, and the New York Times has finally published an in-depth piece about the scandal. Russini was accused of having an alleged affair with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
In its expose, the New York Times revealed that The Athletic, which it owns, was paying Dianna Russini a salary of $800,000 per year. Russini resigned from The Athletic on April 14 amid growing speculation and revelations about the nature of her relationship with Mike Vrabel. She has not made a public statement since.
The Athletic was reportedly paying Dianna Russini $800,000 per year to be the “face of the sports publication” prior to her resignation
“The Athletic paid her an annual salary of close to $800,000, according to a former manager who had knowledge of her salary negotiation. This would have made her one of the highest-paid journalists at the Times Company. She had been promoted as a face of the sports publication, which the company bought in 2022 for $550 million as part of an effort to expand the Times’s reach to sports fans around the world,” the New York Times reported.
While Vrabel has since returned to his role as the head coach of the Patriots, Russini has not spoken publicly since sharing her resignation letter. She also deleted her X/Twitter account and made her Instagram private.
Although Russini’s contract was set to expire at the end of this month, the New York Times has reported that she was in negotiations with the outlet over a contract renewal at the time the story broke.
“In early May, after The Times began reporting this article, Ms. Russini responded to a reporter’s request for an interview via text message. She cited the ‘intense scrutiny and personal attacks’ she had faced, saying, ‘This has had a significant impact on my life, both professionally and personally.’ At the end of the message, referring to herself as a ‘former journalist,’ Ms. Russini asked the reporter not to quote from the text.”
Back in April, photos published by Page Six showed Russini and Vrabel holding hands and hugging at Ambiente Sedona, a luxury adults-only resort in Arizona. Additional photos of the pair canoodling at a New York City bar in March 2020 and boarding a private Tennessee boat trip in 2021 subsequently surfaced.
While Russini and Vrabel both attempted to downplay the scandal at first, the release of additional photos taken over many years made that position untenable. Vrabel then announced he would be seeking “counseling,” which he attended on the third and final day of the 2026 NFL Draft.