Keyshawn Johnson might be pondering a drastic career change.
After the NFL analyst was part of ESPN’s second round of layoffs on Friday, he shared a smiling photo of himself lounging in the ocean near a boat on both Instagram and Twitter.
“My next job might be an influencer,” Johnson wrote, adding two crying-laughing emojis.
“Happy 4th everyone…and thank you for the support!”
Johnson, whose pose was reminiscent of those featured in the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue, sported a white t-shirt and dark shorts with a pair of tinted sunglasses on the shore.
His former colleague, NBA analyst Jay Williams — whose ESPN contract is up at the end of the summer — was hysterical over the photo.
“Black Merman,” he wrote, adding, “I am dead bro” in a separate comment.
“That’s my dog!!!! I mean mermaid 🧜♀️?!?😂,” former NFL defensive end Marcellus Wiley added.
The official Instagram account for 710 AM ESPN Los Angeles — which housed the radio show, “Keyshawn, JWill & Max” — added a few crying-laughing emojis, and tagged the “influencers in the wild” account in the comments.
Prior to last month’s layoffs, the Post reported ESPN was scrapping its national morning radio show that featured Johnson, Williams and Max Kellerman.
Johnson was in the second year of a five-year deal for around $18 million with ESPN, while Kellerman made in the neighborhood of $5 million a year.
Less than a week before the surprise layoffs, Johnson addressed his contract on Twitter after he shared a photo with former ESPNer LZ Granderson, who currently serves as a columnist for the Los Angeles Times.
When someone wrote “2 guys looking for jobs,” Johnson responded with: “LZ has like 4 jobs and I have years left on my contract. We good brother.”
On Friday, when Johnson — along with other top on-air talent including Jeff Van Gundy and Jalen Rose — were laid off, someone responded to the thread with: “This didn’t age well.”
However, Johnson’s free agency doesn’t appear to have him in low spirits.
For now, the former Super Bowl champion wideout is enjoying some R&R in his free time.
Johnson served as an NFL analyst across a number of ESPN shows, including “NFL Live” and “Get Up.
He made his ESPN debut as a guest analyst while still a member of the Carolina Panthers during the 2007 NFL Draft, and was a member of ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” and “Monday Night Countdown” shows from 2007-15.
Johnson, the former first overall pick by the Jets in the 1996 NFL Draft, went on to host a daily morning show on ESPNLA 710 AM from 2016-20, most recently with Granderson and Travis Rodgers.
