There were some notable firings in ESPN’s massive layoffs that went down Monday, starting with Ryan Clark while he was on the air at NFL Live on Monday – and into Tuesday.
Stephen A. Smith & Pat McAfee Drained ESPN Budget?
Two people who are safe in this mess are ESPN’s $100M man Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee, who reportedly is on the verge of signing a massive $60 million per year deal. The belief is that many of these prominent voices were let go because the company couldn’t meet their asking prices. Instead it chose to invest huge sums in a couple of leading faces of the station.
Stephen A. Smith is a powerful voice at ESPN while holding down his flagship morning show, “First Take.” But in similar fashion to when friends of his have been laid off in the past, Smith says his heart is heavy but his hands are tied.
Stephen A. Smith Says He Told Bosses He Wasn’t Happy With Firing Of Clark, But Was Powerless To Stop It
Smith took to his “Straight Shooter” podcast to blast ESPN for Clark’s firing.
“Ryan Clark, a person that I consider to be arguably the best NFL analyst in America, is no longer a member of ESPN,” Smith opened. “And I can’t even tell y’all how much that hurts. I’m gonna miss him. I am not happy about this decision one bit. The bosses know. I made that very, very clear.”
Smith also made sure to toe the company line and ultimately chalked it all up to business. Same as when Max Kellerman left and Molly Qerim left and Shannon Sharpe got railroaded by the OnlyFans model.
“But it’s also important that myself and anybody in the world of business be grownups and understand this is what happens…There’s nobody that’s going to be let go that was more of a friend and brother to me than Ryan Clark,” Smith said.
Emmanuel Acho Says Smith Could Have Saved Cam and Ryan: Fans Skeptical
Acho responded to the firing by saying:
“I feel like Stephen A. Smith could’ve stopped Ryan Clark and Cam Newton from getting fired…He didn’t have to, but he could’ve.”
Fans were skeptical about Stephen A. Smith’s selective outrage. Some pointing out that he didn’t mention Cam Newton or any of the white employees that were cut from the ESPN roster on Tuesday.
“So, Stephen, why just Ryan, why not others? Do you feel sorry that others lost their job, or is it just Ryan because he is black? Ryan and his opinions and Bias should be an embarrassment to you and other black announcers, IMO,” one user commenetd on X.
Many of the responses dared Smith to take a salary cut if he was so hurt by Clark’s dismissal. Others implied that Smith was complicit in the entire ordeal.
“Mean while behind the scenes…… SAS is probably the whole reason he is Gone lol,” said one fan, suggesting SAS played a part in Clark’s exit.
“Maybe he should give back some of his salary to keep Clark. I’m guessing he’s not that upset to do that,” another fan quipped.
“take a paycut and give him your salary lol,” joked another social media user.
Notable Names Axed By ESPN
Baseball voice and longtime host of Baseball Tonight Karl Ravech was let go after 33 years with ESPN. David Lloyd, one of the longest-tenured “SportsCenter” anchors, is out after arriving in Bristol in 1997 as an ESPNEWS anchor. Stephania Bell is out after making her mark with the network since 2008 as a pioneer in the role of injury expert.
Former NFL MVP Cam Newton’s firing is strange after the entertaining co-host and podcaster just signed a new multi-year contract in the summer of 2025. There are other prominent voices who were let go and inevitably more restructuring to come.
