Sports Illustrated, once thought to be the standard of sports journalism through its writing and photography, is laying off most of its staff and “possibly all,” the magazine’s owner said on Friday, putting its future in jeopardy.

“… We were notified by Authentic Brands Group (ABG) that the license under which the Arena Group operates the Sports Illustrated (SI) brand and SI related properties has been officially revoked by ABG. As a result of this license revocation, we will be laying off staff that work on the SI brand,” an email sent to staff said.

“Some employees will be terminated immediately, and paid in lieu of the applicable notice period under the [the union contract]. Employees with a last working day of today will be contacted by the People team soon. Other employees will be expected to work through the end of the notice period, and will receive additional information shortly.”

The magazine’s union tweeted Friday that it would continue to fight for the publication of the magazine but that its future is now in the hands of the magazine’s owner, Authentic Brands Group.

“This is another difficult day in what has been a difficult four years for Sports Illustrated under Arena Group (previously The Maven) stewardship,” the union said in a statement. “We are calling on ABG to ensure the continued publication of SI and allow it to serve our audience in the way it has for nearly 70 years.”

In 2019, Meredith sold Sports Illustrated for $110 million to Authentic Brands Group, in turn agreeing with The Arena Group to publish SI in print and digital. That deal was terminated after Arena missed a $2.8 million payment less than a month ago, in effect breaking the licensing deal.

Sports Illustrated has struggled in the past, laying off 30% of its staff in 2019 at the time Meredith sold the property.

It was reported in November that the website published AI-generated articles, some with fake names and biographies attached to them.

Read more at usatoday.com