Dianna Russini Eyes Gambling-Backed Media Comeback After Mike Vrabel Scandal As New Report Reveals Key Condition

Dianna Russini’s media return comes with one big question© Getty via AFP

Dianna Russini is close to a return to sports media, and the key condition is a scoop. Front Office Sports reported that she is expected to launch content sponsored by gambling companies, with Jake Paul's Betr and the offshore sportsbook BetUS among those in talks. One source told the outlet she needs one big scoop to get going again. Russini resigned from The Athletic in April, about a week after Page Six published photos of her with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. She and Vrabel later called the alleged relationship platonic.

Dianna Russini's gambling-backed comeback hinges on one big scoop

Wherever she lands, the source expects Russini to work as an NFL insider again. “All she needs is one big scoop to show she has motion,” the source said. What nobody knows yet is how much help she will get from the players, coaches and league she covered before April.

FOS also found a Russini Report page, created in October, that promotes a live Wednesday show on pro football news, injuries and analysis. A line calling it “powered by BetUS” has since been removed.

Mike Florio was first to report that Russini has been telling people around the league she expects to be back at work next week.

Page Six said she will be “headlining her own show” on a digital platform. A BetUS promo posted Friday morning previewed a Nov. 11 launch for a show featuring a woman's return, FOS reported, though the post has since been deleted.

BetUS is not the only name in the mix. One source said she also talked with iHeart, though not its subsidiary Fox Sports Radio. Kalshi, Underdog and FanDuel are not currently in contention to sponsor her. When FOS put the company names to Russini, she stopped replying, and her agent sent the outlet to a publicist who declined to comment.

The Athletic's September review of Russini and Vrabel

The Page Six photos showed Russini and Vrabel hugging and holding hands. The Athletic's investigation, released in September, did not try to decide whether the relationship was romantic. It did say she “should have disclosed to The Athletic the nature of her relationship with [Mike] Vrabel to allow editors to assess the kinds of stories on which she should have been working.”

The review found she was “effusive” in her praise of him at times, though in line with how other outlets covered him.

If Florio is right, the hunt for that first scoop starts next week. Neither Russini nor BetUS, Betr or iHeart would tell FOS where she will land.