Jonathan Coachman says hostility toward professional wrestling inside ESPN contributed to major salary cuts during his time with the network, including a second deal negotiated by current WWE President Nick Khan.
Coachman discussed his transition from WWE to mainstream sports broadcasting during an appearance on Developmentally Speaking with Bryan Asbury.
Coachman described the stigma he encountered in sports media with a phrase he has used for years.
“I call it the wrestling stink.”
That perception was part of why Coachman believed he needed to leave WWE when he did. He feared another long contract could make it more difficult to establish himself outside professional wrestling.
“That’s why I told you that when I had to leave for ESPN, I knew I had to leave at the end of that contract.”
“If I would have gone to another three years, now we’re talking 13 years in the WWE.”
Coachman said the money in WWE was good, but he believed remaining there longer might have cost him the opportunity to work at ESPN.
“It was nice money. It wasn’t life-changing money by any stretch of the imagination. And if I wouldn’t have gotten out then, I don’t think I ever would have gotten there.”
According to Coachman, one unnamed ESPN executive particularly disliked his wrestling background.
“The executive that was kind of in charge of my contract, if I’m being honest, he’s no longer at ESPN, but he hated wrestling so much that he cut my salary by $60,000 a year.”
Coachman then revealed that Khan, long before becoming WWE President, handled negotiations for his second ESPN agreement.
“A little fun fact, Nick Khan, who is the president of the WWE now, he negotiated my second deal at ESPN.”
Coachman says that agreement resulted in an even larger overall reduction.
“It was a $120,000 pay cut.”
He said the only explanation he received was that the unnamed ESPN executive claimed Coachman had been speaking negatively about Khan.
“This executive, who’s no longer there, hated having a wrestling guy so much, Brian, that he told Nick Khan, ‘Oh, Coach has been talking trash about you around these walls.’”
Coachman said the allegation made little sense because he had never developed a personal relationship with Khan.
“To this day, Brian, I’ve never met Nick Khan in person.”
“Why would I talk trash on somebody that I’ve never met that represented Kirk Herbstreit, Brian Kenny, the list goes on and on and on?”
“Why would I ever do that? Well, the answer is I wouldn’t, because I didn’t.”
Looking back, Coachman believes he should have challenged the situation instead of accepting the reduced compensation.
“At that time, I was so excited. I was like, ‘Okay, I guess I’ll take $120,000 pay cut total,’ instead of going, ‘Wait a second, Nick. Let’s get on a call and let’s hash through this.’”
Coachman said the experience became a lesson in the importance of having representation and advocating for yourself.
“Those are things that can happen if you don’t have a voice.”
WrestlingHeadlines previously covered Peter Rosenberg crediting Coachman with helping convince an initially wrestling-averse ESPN to increase its WWE coverage. Khan has since become WWE President and signed a new agreement in 2026 that keeps him in that position through 2030.
Coachman did not identify the ESPN executive involved. The executive’s alleged motive and comments to Khan are presented as Coachman’s retrospective account and have not been independently corroborated.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Developmentally Speaking, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
