ESPN’s biggest round of layoffs in three years began in the most public way possible on Monday, when analyst Ryan Clark learned he’d been let go while sitting on the set of “NFL Live.” Clark left the studio before the broadcast wrapped and did not return.
Clark had spent more than a decade as one of the network’s most familiar NFL voices, appearing regularly across “NFL Live,” “Get Up,” “First Take,” “SportsCenter” and “Monday Night Countdown” since signing on in 2015.
A former Pittsburgh Steelers safety and Super Bowl XLIII champion, he built a second career as one of television’s more pointed and outspoken football analysts, work that earned him a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Personality/Studio Analyst in 2023 and a contract extension in 2024 reportedly worth more than $2 million a year.
According to people familiar with the situation, ESPN executives chose to break the news to Clark during the live show rather than let him find out through a leak ahead of a broader round of cuts planned for Tuesday. The network reportedly worried that inquiries from reporters could surface the story before Clark was told directly. Once informed, Clark exited the set and did not finish the episode.
Read more: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos approaches discussions for minority stake in Liverpool (with video)
Reports also point to friction that may have shaped the decision to part ways with him. Clark’s standing at the network had reportedly been unsteady since as early as February, and it worsened after a heated on- and off-air clash with fellow analyst Peter Schrager last September on “Get Up,” during which Clark dismissed Schrager’s perspective by noting he’d never played in the league.
The exchange drew criticism at the time, and Clark later apologized, though the incident appears to have lingered as a mark against him internally.
Clark addressed the moment publicly the next morning, thanking colleagues and wishing well to others swept up in the cuts, without dwelling on the manner of his own exit.
His departure was just the opening move in a much larger restructuring. ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro told staff in an internal memo that the company had spent recent months reviewing combined teams and operations following its absorption of NFL Network assets, and that while most of the eliminated roles stem from that integration, cuts are hitting other parts of the business too.
Read more: Robbie Williams responds with humor after viral World Cup interview incident (with videos)
Longtime “Baseball Tonight” host Karl Ravech, a fixture at the network since 1993, was let go shortly after calling an MLB game. NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero was also cut, and commentator Cam Newton was released just a year after signing his own extension.
The reductions trace back to an agreement reached last August, under which ESPN took over NFL Network, NFL Fantasy and RedZone distribution rights in exchange for the NFL receiving a 10% equity stake in ESPN; NFL Network staff formally joined ESPN on April 1 after regulatory approval earlier in the year. The moves also fit into wider cost-cutting underway across parent company Disney.
