Matthew Berry and Dianna Russini have known each other since their ESPN days, though they took different paths even under the same roof. Berry had become one of the network’s defining fantasy football voices, while Russini was building her name as an NFL reporter. Their worlds, however, increasingly overlapped.
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Russini appeared on Berry’s podcast, his fantasy show, and his Sunday morning program, giving him a firsthand look at how she worked on camera and with the people behind the scenes. They eventually left ESPN in different years and for very different reasons, but he still remembers exactly how she worked. Maybe this is what makes him consider hiring the veteran NFL reporter, who has stayed out of sports media since she resigned from The Athletic earlier this year.
“It’s a great question. I like Dianna a lot,” Berry said on the Speaking on OutKick, the “Fantasy Life” podcast. “I will say this: I consider Dianna a friend. And I think she’s really, really talented and good on air. She always came prepared, energetic. She was nice to all the producers. Showed up on time, prepared, gave a great performance. Whatever we needed.”
But Dianna Russini’s potential fit at Fantasy Life, though, is not as straightforward as simply bringing another NFL reporter onto the team.
Russini built her career around sourcing and breaking league news, while Berry acknowledged that his company does not really operate in that business. Fantasy Life has grown into a much broader operation since Berry founded it. The company offers rankings, waiver-wire advice, start/sit recommendations, trade tools, and other products. It also produces year-round NFL and fantasy football programming.
Berry therefore said the question would come down to whether Russini could contribute to that business.
“So, you know, the question would become, can we afford her? What is she going to do for the company? Because we don’t really break news.
“If she was working at Fantasy Life, she would be providing content that would help people win their fantasy leagues, not necessarily what she did at ESPN or The Athletic,” he said.
Berry later made his thinking even clearer. The decision, he said, would come down to the same questions Fantasy Life asks about any potential hire: where the person fits within the team, what they want to be paid, whether the company can afford them and whether they can create enough value through shows, traffic or subscriptions. The question about cost also carries some context.
A New York Times report in June said Russini had been earning close to $800,000 annually at The Athletic, making her one of the higher-paid journalists at the New York Times Company. There is no indication Fantasy Life has discussed a salary or made Russini an offer, and her previous pay would not necessarily determine what she might earn elsewhere. Still, it helps explain why Berry immediately raised the question of affordability.
The company has been expanding in that direction. Fantasy Life raised $7 million in a 2025 seed round and has continued adding products and distribution, with the company saying the funding would support technology, new tools and expanded content offerings. It also reported a 737% increase in revenue since its 2022 launch, including a 230% jump from 2024 to the first half of 2025.
That growth could also give Russini a different kind of role from the one she held at ESPN or The Athletic. Berry’s memories of her were not limited to reporting or breaking news; he specifically pointed to her energy, preparation and ability to perform across his programs. If she ever joined Fantasy Life, those qualities could arguably be as relevant to a host or contributor role, one that brings NFL reporting and insider perspective into fantasy-focused programming, as her ability to break news.
The timing makes the discussion particularly notable for Dianna Russini. She resigned from The Athletic in April after photographs of her with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at an Arizona resort prompted an internal review at the outlet. Russini said at the time that she stood behind her reporting and rejected the public narrative that had formed around the photographs. She has not publicly announced another full-time sports media position since leaving.
Berry did not attempt to judge Russini on that situation. When pressed on whether the controversy would concern him, he declined to weigh in. Instead, he said he would approach Russini the same way he would evaluate any potential addition to his company, focusing on whether the person fits the team and can create value for the business.
“So I think it’s not a simple yay or nay,” Berry said. “But to be clear, I personally have nothing bad to say about Dianna.”
For now, there is no announcement that Russini is joining Fantasy Life, and Berry stopped short of saying the company has formally offered her a position. His answer was ultimately less a promise of a job than an explanation of what would have to happen first: Fantasy Life would need to find a role that fits Russini’s strengths, makes financial sense and helps the company reach the fantasy audience it is trying to build.