Dianna Russini (Getty Images)
Front Office Sports reported that the NFL and The Athletic have held discussions about an expanded partnership that would place The Athletic’s content on the league’s digital platforms. The Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel scandal has a new layer. That timing is a problem. The outlet is still conducting an internal investigation into whether Russini’s reporting on Vrabel and the New England Patriots was compromised by an alleged romantic relationship. A deal with the NFL, critics say, puts the credibility of that entire probe in serious doubt.
Russini resigned from The Athletic, and Vrabel stepped away from his Patriots duties on Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft to attend counseling with his family. The Athletic has strict editorial guidelines that govern its staff, and those guidelines were central to why the Russini probe was launched in the first place.
She deleted her social media accounts and recently referred to herself as a “former journalist” in text messages that leaked to a New York Times reporter, suggesting she isn’t planning a return to sports media. “The Athletic is presumably in the throes of this conflict of interest investigation of a former reporter with an NFL coach while at the same time engaging in talks to enter into a conflict of interest situation with the NFL. Got it,” Salguero wrote. He didn’t stop there. “That raises a sizeable inconsistency. The Athletic is presumably investigating Russini for possibly engaging in a questionable relationship with an NFL coach at a time it is weighing whether to get in bed with the NFL. The argument isn’t complicated. An institutional partnership with the NFL would place the outlet in essentially the same position it is investigating Russini for. Salguero made that parallel explicit: “So will The Athletic, on the one hand trying to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, allow an affiliation with the NFL that violates its own guidelines by calling into question its credibility? That’s where things get genuinely murky. Others have already questioned whether The Athletic will even release the findings of the Russini investigation if the NFL partnership is finalized. The incentive to publish a critical report about a league you’re now financially aligned with is, to put it plainly, not great. The scandal itself began when Russini and Vrabel were photographed together at a resort in Arizona, appearing to hug, hold hands, and lounge by the pool. It turned into a months-long tabloid story, with fans combing through old interviews, social media posts, and even Spotify playlists for more context. Vrabel has appeared at press conferences. Russini has not addressed the situation publicly beyond her initial statement and resignation letter.
Since then, both have largely gone quiet.