The Athletic Was Paying Dianna Russini a Massive Salary Before She Resigned

Just when it seemed the rest of the sports world had left the Dianna Russini and New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel scandal in their rearview, Russini's former employer, The Athletic, pulled a Lee Corso and said "Not so fast, my friend."

On Wednesday, the news outlet published a story in which it dragged Russini's name through the mud again, releasing new information about the former NFL insider who's still under investigation by the global sports publication, while also revealing exactly how much Russini was getting paid during her time with the company.

"The Athletic paid her an annual salary of close to $800,000, according to a former manager who had knowledge of her salary negotiation," New York Times reporters Katherine Rosman and Ken Belson wrote. "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. At the time the story broke, The Athletic was in discussions with Ms. Russini about renewing her contract, which was set to expire at the end of June."

The story also questioned whether or not Russini's relationship with Vrabel "compromised" her role at The Athletic.

Rosman and Belson also disclosed they'd made several requests to interview Russini for the story but were declined, though Russini did initially respond to some questions via text and asked the Times not to include those messages in its story - it did not oblige.

The Times also revealed Russini used her relationship with an NFL head coach to get out of a ticker after getting pulled over for texting with her sons in the car. She stated she was trying to break a story, and FaceTimed the head coach of the officer's favorite team to get out of the ticket - behavior the Times called an "abuse of professional access for personal gain."

It was also disclosed that Russini knew about the photos of her and Vrabel in Arizona and was given time to respond, but she didn't alert anyone at The Athletic about the incident, and the company found out about it hours before the photos were published by Page Six.

All in all, Russini just looks even more guilty, though it's unlikely fans will be shocked by any new information coming to light given how the summer played out.

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This story was originally published June 24, 2026 at 5:08 PM.