The Dianna Russini saga has been blown wide open after The New York Times released a 5,000-word report on Wednesday, exposing new details about the former NFL insider who worked for The Athletic.
The Times, which owns The Athletic, published the piece detailing Russini’s entire rundown as a reporter from her time at ESPN and The Athletic before resigning due to her rumored affair with New England Patriots’ head coach Mike Vrabel in April.
Two of the more striking revelations were Russini’s salary and her apparent abuse of insider power to evade law enforcement.
When discussing how shocked the company was by the rumors of Russini’s now public affair, The New York Times also revealed how much she earned before her resignation. A former manager who had knowledge of her salary negotiation stated that The Athletic was paying her nearly $800,000 a year, making her one of the highest-paid journalists at the Times.
The decision to engage with the relationship with Vrabel is seen as even more surprising considering her salary.
Russini was actively in contract talks with the paper on renewing the contract to potentially make even more money, but the photos that came to the surface of the affair halted all discussion. She eventually resigned.
Russini’s abuse of power as an NFL reporter and insider was also highlighted in the report. In January of this year, Russini was pulled over for using her phone while driving with her children in the car. She then tried to avoid a ticket by mentioning that Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott had just been fired and she needed to break the news. After the cop was unimpressed, she discovered his favorite team, facetimed the head coach, and was let go without a citation.
This came two months before the leaked photos of her and Vrabel.
This isn’t the first time the story has surfaced. Earlier this year, Russini joked on a podcast about the situation.
WILD: Dianna Russini revealed she got out of a traffic ticket by FaceTiming the head coach of the officer’s favorite NFL team.
Russini: “What a nasty play… but it worked.” 😳 pic.twitter.com/rh1O9WRz5e
— College Transfer Portal (@CollegeFBPortal) June 24, 2026