One of ESPN’s higher-profile analysts is abruptly out.
ESPN has dropped NFL analyst Ryan Clark as part of expected layoffs, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Per Marchand, Clark was informed of his firing while he was taping “NFL Live” Monday and did not stay on for the remainder of the show. According to Richard Deitsch of Sports Business Journal, ESPN had planned to inform Clark about being laid off on Tuesday, but let him know ahead of time to avoid having him find out through the media.
Clark joined ESPN fresh out of retirement in 2015, having previously made guest appearances on the network while an active player in 2013 and 2014. During his tenure, he became one of the network’s top NFL analysts across its studio shows, including “SportsCenter” and “Monday Night Countdown.”
The high point of Clark’s ESPN tenure was, by all accounts, his appearance on “SportsCenter” the night Buffalo Bills S Damar Hamlin collapsed due to cardiac arrest during a 2023 “Monday Night Football” game. Clark and host Scott Van Pelt were largely praised for their performance during what was a breaking news event.
Since that point, Clark’s tenure has primarily made headlines for behind-the-scenes issues rather than any on-air work. He went public about the expiration of his ESPN contract in 2024, ultimately reaching a new deal. In 2025, he had a highly personal social media exchange with Robert Griffin III about Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese.
Perhaps the most damaging incident was a wholly unnecessary dig at Peter Schrager on “Get Up” last fall — dismissing Schrager’s opinion as coming from “the non-player in you” — for which he later apologized.
According to Marchand, ESPN brass “soured” on Clark due to those controversies.
Clark continues to host his podcast “The Pivot.” He was also a host on the most recent season of the NFL Films-produced “Inside the NFL.”
ESPN has already undergone layoffs this year, cutting 30 staffers in April. Per Marchand, ESPN is expected to inform other employees that they are being laid off on Tuesday morning, with those cuts falling disproportionately on staffers at newly-acquired NFL Network.
