The 33rd Team is undergoing significant changes, causing early exits for several writers. Notably, Dan Pizzuta, Tyler Brooke, and James Foster announced on Sunday that their contracts will end early. Pizzuta and Brooke’s contracts will terminate at the end of March, while Foster’s will conclude after the NFL Draft, scheduled for April 24-26:
Some sad news to share this morning.
My contract with The 33rd Team will be terminated early, at the end of March.
I cannot thank you all enough for the support. This season was, without question, the most creatively rewarding year of my career.
— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) February 23, 2025
A late addition to this list: me.
I’m going to be a free agent at the end of March.
Thankful and appreciative of my time at The 33rd Team. Excited and hopeful for what’s next. https://t.co/pdgUhEkfTY
— Dan Pizzuta (@DanPizzuta) February 23, 2025
Sad to announce that my contract with The 33rd Team will end after the draft. My DMs are open if anyone’s looking for NFL/draft coverage!
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) February 23, 2025
Additionally, Ryan Glasspiegel from Front Office Sports reported that 8-10 staff members focused on the website will not have their contracts renewed. There are indications that the public-facing content of the site may be altered, potentially transitioning to a paywall:
A number of jobs at The 33rd Team website are being eliminated as the NFL-focused company will center its resources on other aspects of the business, Front Office Sports has confirmed.
About 8-10 employees who work on the website will not have their contracts renewed, one source said. …The site may still exist in some capacity, and could be paywalled in the future, a source close to the situation said.
NFL reporter Arif Hasan from Wide Left also addressed this situation on X, suggesting it represents broader cuts. Initially, he reported the elimination of the entire content division before refining his statement to refer only to “written content”:
Written content*
— Arif Hasan, but NFL 🏈 (@ArifHasanNFL) February 23, 2025
Foster and Brooke joined The 33rd Team last September, while Pizzuta has been there since December 2023, each bringing varied experience from other football media outlets. While Pizzuta has credits from numberFire, SB Nation, and Sharp Football Analysis, Brooke’s background includes Yahoo Sports, The Sporting News, and Heavy, and Foster previously worked at A to Z Sports. Brooke, also a high school football coach, noted that he will maintain his role as a social media editor at Yahoo and Rivals. Ian Kenyon, editor-in-chief at The 33rd Team, publicly supported Pizzuta and Brooke through retweets and original posts:
Tyler’s great. Whoever lands him next is getting a good one. https://t.co/tBpl8h7s0v
— Ian Kenyon (@ikenyonFB) February 23, 2025
Dan’s in-depth analysis of the league is second to none. Some truly outstanding work. https://t.co/N4EdvXSIiq
— Ian Kenyon (@ikenyonFB) February 23, 2025
At present, Pizzuta, Brooke, and Foster are the only members of The 33rd Team to publicly announce their departures. Awful Announcing has contacted The 33rd Team for additional comments and will provide updates as new information arises.
On the consulting side, The 33rd Team has recently prioritized this approach and has secured prominent clients, including the University of Washington and the New York Jets. Hasan’s specification regarding “written” content is noteworthy, as the platform also offers significant video and audio content, recently enhancing its team with Pro Football Focus veterans Sam Monson and Steve Palazzolo. This distinction suggests that at least some of the audio-visual offerings will continue, while discontinuing written content would mark a significant shift for The 33rd Team.
As The 33rd Team has evolved since its official launch in 2021 by former NFL executives Mike Tannenbaum and Joe Banner, it has seen various executive changes, including co-CEO Tony Petitti before taking on the Big Ten commissioner role.
The direction of The 33rd Team remains to be seen, but the departure of notable writers and discussions of broader cuts potentially affecting the entire written content sector are significant. If these changes occur, The 33rd Team will not be the first to pivot away from written content, but it would represent a noteworthy decision nonetheless.
