20 million dollars! That’s how much money Adrian Wojnarowski walked away from when he announced his retirement from the media industry to take on a general manager role at St. Bonaventure University’s men’s basketball program. Although the homecoming to his alma mater was always tempting, leaving the ESPN gig that paid such a lucrative salary must not have been a straightforward resolution. Or was it?

Well, the media veteran revealed that his pal and Clippers executive Lee Jenkins’ wise words motivated him to take the unexpected leap.

Looking back on his legendary media career, Woj said, “I loved every bit about my career. Exceeded every expectation I ever had.” From his initial passion as a college basketball writer to his stint at ESPN, the former insider was grateful for his incredible journey, “It transformed my life and my career. There’s no question.”

But, Lee Jenkins’ words during a conversation left a massive impact on Woj. “He had a line that stuck with me and he said ‘Essentially, it’s okay to say you did it. You don’t have to do it forever.’”

While Woj had been at the peak of his career in the last couple of years and had become a prominent face on television, he gradually realized that it was time to move on, “I just felt like I had reached the point where I thought the last year two years, I had been performing at a very very high level by any metric that I would have. Probably less satisfying, less fulfilling than it felt.”

Moreover, Jenkins’ message hit hard because he made a similar transition six years ago when he left his stable Sports Illustrated job to take on an executive role for the Clippers. And Woj even deemed him the most talented sports writer of his generation. With Jenkins’ words motivating him and his own gut hinting at the same, Adrian Wojnarowski finally decided to end his media career and take on an executive role in college.

“The timing just seemed right.” He remarked in an interview with Jim Rome.

Adrian Wojnarowski aims to ‘Open New Doors’ for St. Bonaventure and claims the decision WASN’T Hard

After revealing the inspiration behind quitting his ESPN job, Wojnarowski revealed why the timing to enter the college basketball scene seemed right, “I think there is an inflection point right now in college sports, certainly college basketball.”

With NIL valuation and player transfers becoming more prominent every year, colleges require talented executives to run successful basketball programs. Woj might be the perfect person to take St. Bonaventure’s program to the next level using his vast experience.

While St. Bonaventure has been highly successful in recent years, Adrian Wojnarowski aims to take them to greater heights, “I wanna help Bonaventure continue that, maybe expand, open up some new doors for our coaching staff and our program. And it just seemed like a lot of fun.”

Moreover, he even claimed that leaving his media career and $20 million on the table was not “a hard decision” because his heart wanted him to return to college. “There’s nothing quite like being a Bonnie,” he added. To sum up, Woj is having an amazing time at his new job as he revealed that his current makeshift office at the University is in the same location where he met his wife years ago. He deemed it a “full circle” moment.

What are your thoughts?