Dianna Russini is leaving ESPN for The Athletic to be its top NFL insider, The Post has learned.

Russini had been with ESPN for eight years as one of its main NFL reporters, appearing on all of its major NFL shows.

ESPN offered a raise to stay, according to sources, but Russini chose to go to The Athletic. 

She is expected to start soon at The Athletic, where she will write NFL stories, appear on its video platforms and work with podcasts.

The subscription based service was bought by the New York Times for $550 million in January 2022.

The Times recently announced that it was jettisoning its sports writers to other parts of the paper in favor of The Athletic scribes.

The Times’ Guild had strong objections to the move in part because the current sports writers are part of the union, while the others are not. 

ESPN wanted to retain Russini, even though it is in cost-cutting mode.

It recently laid off around 20 big name employees, including Jeff Van Gundy, Keyshawn Johnson and Jalen Rose.

Negotiations between Russini and ESPN were said to be going well, but she decided to leave for The Athletic.

With Russini leaving, Lindsey Thiry is expected to transition into being a full-time NFL TV reporter for ESPN, while Kimberley Martin and Jeff Darlington could see an expansion in their air time.