Tori Lynn Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK
ESPN is cutting ties with Ryan Clark after over a decade at the network
ESPN is cutting ties with NFL analyst Ryan Clark, according to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. Clark, who first signed with ESPN in 2015, was made aware of ESPN’s decision while he was on the set of NFL Live.
According to The Athletic, Ryan Clark was laid off from ESPN despite the fact that he “was slated to be a large part in its Super Bowl 61 coverage,” which will mark the first time the network has broadcast the Super Bowl.
The report from Marchand adds that Clark’s departure is the “first part of ESPN layoffs that are expected to occur this week.” Clark was reportedly earning roughly $2M per year after he re-signed with ESPN in 2024.
“Clark was on ESPN’s NFL Live on Monday. He was informed of the decision during the show, said the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter. Clark did not finish the program.”
“There are expected to be a small number of layoffs of on-air personalities based at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Conn., as well as a larger number of employees, both on- and off-the-air, from NFL Network.” [via New York Times]
Ryan Clark being laid off from ESPN comes after he had to issue numerous public apologies last year
While it’s unclear whether it was a factor in ESPN’s decision, Clark’s departure comes after a string of controversies and public apologies that made him an increasingly complicated figure to keep on the air. In the span of roughly three months in fall 2025, he issued three separate public apologies.
He first apologized for shaming former NFL QB and ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III by suggesting his opinions on WNBA star Angel Reese weren’t valid because RG3 is married to a white woman, before he later apologized after belittling colleague Peter Schrager on Get Up! by dismissing his take with “that’s the non-player in you” — an incident he later described as “regrettable” both on and off the air.
He apologized after falsely stating on air that Louisiana police had manufactured evidence against former LSU wide receiver Kyren Lacy and that Lacy was innocent — a claim that turned out to be incorrect and that Clark had to retract and apologize for on First Take.
Clark, 46 yers old, was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in April 2002. He spent two seasons with the giants and two with the then-Washington Redskins before landing in Pittsburgh with the Steelers, where he was a fixture of the team’s defense from 2008 to 2013, and started in 14 regular season games the year they won the Super Bowl in 2008. He was also named to the Pro Bowl in 2011.
In recent years at ESPN, Clark had been a fixture of NFL Live alongside host Laura Rutledge and fellow analysts Mina Kimes, Dan Orlovsky and Marcus Spears, and also featured on network staples such as Get Up!, SportsCenter, and First Take.