Sports Illustrated staff laid off as magazine’s future uncertain

Nearly all of the Sports Illustrated staff has been laid off as the license to use the name of the magazine has been suspended.

Much of the Sports Illustrated staff was notified on Friday of mass layoffs.

The news comes following a missed licensing payment of $3.75M by the publisher, The Arena Group, to the brand’s owner, Authentic Brands Group. The Arena Group has operated the magazine under this agreement since 2019, but it was announced earlier this month that the quarterly payment had been missed and the license was in jeopardy.

The Sports Illustrated Union and The NewsGuild of New York have stated it will “fight for every one of our colleagues.”

The first issue of Sports Illustrated was published on August 16, 1954. Where the magazine goes from here remains to be seen.