Former PGA Tour pro Paul Azinger refuses pay cut leading to ouster at NBC Sports

When the news broke about longtime NBC senior analyst Paul Azinger not returning to the booth in 2024, rumors suggested he was actually fired.

However, that does not appear to be the case. Sources say he was in contract negotiations for a new deal, per Sports Illustrated.

NBC Sports and Azinger’s team had agreed on a schedule for the 2024 season and other terms for a one-year contract.

They issued a formal offer to the broadcaster that included financial terms less than the contract he signed in 2018 when Azinger replaced Johnny Miller as the lead analyst.

The 1993 PGA Championship winner countered NBC Sports’ offer, but the company decided to go in a new direction and not renew his contract.

Azinger isn’t the only veteran who lost his job. Around the same time, 15-year veteran Golf Channel producer Brandt Packer was also let go. Gary Koch and Roger Maltbie were two other high-profile departures last year that were just the beginning of the moves NBC and Golf Channel would make.

Cost-cutting appeared to be the move by the Comcast-owned NBC. They didn’t send production staff to Italy for the Ryder Cup. Instead, they handled the production from its headquarters in Stamford, Conn.

These cuts won’t be the only ones, as more are expected for 2024.

Next week, NBC will broadcast Tiger Woods’ return at the Hero World Challenge, but Azinger will not be in the booth. Instead, Curt Byrum will sit in the lead analyst chair alongside Dan Hicks. There has been no official word if Byrum will be the full-time replacement or not.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.