It is a dark day for sports journalism.

The Arena Group alerted all Sports Illustrated staffers on Friday that their positions were being eliminated.

Richard Deitsch, a sports media reporter who left for Sports Illustrated for the Athletic, posted the email that all employees received on X.

It noted, in part, that some employees would be “terminated immediately.”

The decision comes after the Authentic Brands Group, the licensing group that bought Sports Illustrated for $110 million from Meredith five years ago, terminated the agreement it holds with The Arena Group to publish the magazine in print and digital, per Front Office Sports.

The Sports Illustrated Union said it was calling upon Authentic to “ensure the continued publication of SI” in a statement following the announcement.

“We have fought together as a union to maintain the standard of this storied publication that we love, and to make sure our workers are treated fairly for the value they bring to this company. It is a fight we will continue,” Mitch Goldich, the SI NFL editor and unit chair of the union, wrote.

“Some employees will be terminated immediately, and paid in lieu of the applicable notice period under the [the union contract],” the notice read. “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 Arena Group missed a $2.8 million payment that breached the company’s Sports Illustrated licensing deal three weeks ago.

It is unclear whether Authentic will establish a new operator or allow Arena to renegotiate its current deal.