Adrian Wojnarowski's shock retirement from ESPN came after he was diagnosed with prostate
cancer, it has been revealed.
The
NBA insider
stunned the basketball world in September when he left journalism to become the general manager of the men's basketball program at St. Bonaventure, his alma mater.
And in a new interview with
Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, Wojnarowski shared that he was diagnosed with early-stage cancer in March.
Wojnarowski said his cancer is 'pretty limited in scope' and has no symptoms, but still undergoes quarterly checkups - with surgery a possibility in the future.
'When you hear you think about it going through your body like Pac-Man,' Wojnarowski told
Sports Illustrated. 'Prostate cancer, it generally stays confined to your prostate and is typically slow growing.'
The 55-year-old is said to have learned about his diagnosis just before a remote appearance on 'NBA Countdown.'
'I didn't want to spend one more day of my life waiting on someone's MRI or hitting an agent at 1 a.m. about an ankle sprain,' he said.
Wojnarowksi, who insisted he was not forced to leave ESPN because of his health issue, was due another $20million in the remaining three years of his contract.
'[ESPN president] Jimmy [Pitaro] was great,' Wojnarowski said. 'But the only reason to stay was the money. That wasn't a good enough reason.'
Wojnarowksi has now taken a 99 percent pay cut from the roughly $7million he was making per year at ESPN - to the tune of $75,000 at St. Bonaventure.
The article also revealed that Pitaro tried to keep Wojnarowksi on in a different role, including taking a break from 'NBA Countdown' and returning for the postseason.