Former NFL player and ESPN on-air analyst and personality Ryan Clark was laid off by the sports news mogul in the middle of the broadcast Monday.
After 11 years with the company, Clark was fired during his appearance on “NFL Live” and did not finish the show, as reported by The Athletic. He had been discussing the New York Giants just minutes prior, but did not return to the panel after a commercial break.
Clark, 46, was a safety in the league for 13 years, earning one Pro Bowl selection and winning a Super Bowl with the Steelers. Following his time in the league, Clark joined ESPN as an analyst in 2015, just a month after his retirement.
Sources told The Athletic that the company’s plan had originally been to fire him as a part of a mass layoff on Tuesday that would occur across ESPN and NFL Network, which was expected when ESPN purchased NFL Network and its assets in a $3 billion acquisition. However, “after receiving calls on the matter,” ESPN opted to cut Clark during the broadcast in order to prevent news leaking of his firing before the following day.
The Athletic was informed following the Super Bowl this past February that Clark’s job was in jeopardy. They also reported that the company was influenced by his “perceived poor verbal conduct,” specifically towards former colleague Peter Schrager on a segment of “Get Up.”
In the interaction, Clark prefaced his future comment by saying, “We shouldn’t do this on TV,” then following it up with, “That’s the non-player in you,” when discussing Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb’s performance in their opening game last September.
Wow: Ryan Clark was reportedly fired from ESPN due to his “poor verbal conduct” with fellow colleague Peter Schrager.
Specifically this exchange between the two last September on live television.
Clark: “That’s the non-player in you”
Schrager: “Don’t belittle me like that, I… https://t.co/M6bfGdjfpN pic.twitter.com/UaCHX6WFH7
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 21, 2026
Following the interaction that day, Clark took to X to apologize for his comment toward Schrager.
Even after his firing, ESPN continued to post clips of Clark’s takes on social media after the airing of his appearances Monday, sparking backlash from fans in the comments of both the NFL on ESPN and SportsCenter’s X posts.
Clark recently signed a contract with ESPN in February 2024, where he was earning more than $2 million a year.
Clark was not the only major media personality let go by ESPN and NFL Network over the last 36 hours. Karl Ravech, Tom Pelissero, Cam Newton, Charles Davis, David Lloyd, and Stephania Bell are some of the notable names that will no longer be a part of the networks.
He took to Instagram to provide a “proof of life“ and then to X to express his feelings on everyone hit by the major layoff that took place.
Sending prayers and love to all those laid off today by ESPN. 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!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) July 21, 2026
In a memo sent to ESPN employees this morning, which was obtained by The Daily Wire, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro wrote to his staff about the recent layoffs.
“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into 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. 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.”
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