Josh Elliott has spoke out for the first time since his leaving ABC News’ Good Morning America. The newest member of the NBC Sports team said that the decision was not about money, no matter how many times the media tries to spin it.
The popular GMA personality left GMA over the weekend and he got his goodbyes from his colleagues on Monday. He is being replaced by Amy Robach.
There have been reports that he wanted a significant pay raise, especially after Robin Roberts got an estimated $14 million. Talks went on for months, but ultimately, Elliott decided to leave.
“In the end, it had nothing to do with money,” Elliott told People Tuesday. The magazine’s sources say that Elliott wanted $10 million from ABC, but they only offered him half that. However, his NBC Sports contract is even lower at $4 million. “There were two great offers on the table, and it certainly was a difficult choice to make. I feel I made the best one,” he said.
Elliott, who previously worked at ESPN, said that the decision was also not about any one person at ABC. The NBC Sports offer was just “too good to pass up” and he always wanted to be a part of an Olympics broadcast. (NBC has exclusive rights to the Olympics.)
Despite recent success in the ratings, GMA has been experiencing major changes, as meteorologist Sam Champion also left to join the Weather Channel. GMA is still in a ratings war with NBC’s Today Show, and broke the Today’s 16-year reign at the top in 2012.