ESPN axed some prominent on-air talent in a new round of layoffs on Tuesday morning.
Former NFL defensive back Ryan Clark was among those who were let go after 11 years at ESPN, but it was notable that his name was the first to leak in multiple reports on Monday before his other impacted colleagues were notified the next day.
Making it even messier, Clark was in the middle of making his daily TV appearance on “NFL Live” when he was informed of the layoff; Clark then chose not to finish the show.
The timing of Clark’s name being leaked first led to speculation about a potential contentious relationship between Clark and an ESPN executive.
“I spoke to a source close to NFL Live production on Ryan Clark’s firing who tells me… Ryan Clark was blindsided while on air,” the Breakfast Club’s Loren Lorosa wrote on X.
“My source is alleging that the Head of ESPN Content Burke Magnus had the news of the firing leaked.”
That sentiment was echoed by Robert Littal of Black Sports Online.
“My moles at ESPN believe this was leaked on purpose while Ryan Clark on air to embarrass him because of some internal beef,” Littal wrote.
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that his own unnamed sources told him that ESPN informed Clark of his impending layoff in the middle of the live show because it received media inquiries about the news and feared it was going to leak anyway.
While his name was the first to leak, Clark was not the only on-air talent let go by ESPN.
Other names on the list reportedly include: MLB play-by-play announcer/host Karl Ravech, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, “SportsCenter” anchor David Lloyd, Injury/fantasy football analyst Stephania Bell, NFL Network analyst Charles Davis, “First Take” contributor Cam Newton and NFL analyst Bart Scott.
The layoffs are partially tied to ESPN acquiring the NFL Network in a deal six months ago. The merger delivered the NFL a 10 percent ownership stake in ESPN.
“Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future,” ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo obtained by Awful Announcing. “As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today.
“While most of the job impacts are tied to the acquisition, we will also notify colleagues in other parts of the company today that their positions have been impacted. We are committed to treating employees with compassion and respect and to providing support as they navigate this transition,” the statement continued.
The decision to let go of multiple veteran ESPN voices also comes on the heels of the company preparing to offer ESPN partner Pat McAfee a historic licensing contract worth in excess of $60 million per year, The Athletic reported in June.
McAfee currently makes around $30 million per year licensing “The Pat McAfee Show” to ESPN. He is the highest-paid talent who has a contractual relationship with ESPN.
Black ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith reportedly makes around $20 million per year running “First Take” among his other appearances on the network. Smith considers Clark to be like a “brother” to him, and the former Pittsburgh Steelers player regularly appeared on “First Take” during the NFL season.
“I am not happy about this decision one bit,” Smith said about Clark’s firing on Tuesday. “The (ESPN) bosses know I’m not happy about this decision. I’ve made that very, very clear.”
“But it’s also important that myself, and anybody else in the business, be grown-ups and understand that these are the kind of things that happen when layoffs happen,” Smith added.
If there are any hard feelings between Clark and ESPN following his departure, he is at least not showing it in public.
“Sending prayers and love to all those laid off today by ESPN,” Clark said on Tuesday. “So many of you have poured your life into that company, & I know how you’re feeling right now.
“My hope is as this door closes another opens for you all. God bless!”
