Former NFL MVP Cam Newton has become the latest casualty of ESPN’s brutal round of cuts, according to reports.
The network is set to announce that several of its top on-air talent is being laid off, with $2m-a-year NFL analyst Ryan Clark reportedly informed that he has been fired in the middle of his show on Monday night.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, which was recently acquired by ESPN, is also being let go, as are longtime sports host and play-by-play baseball commentator Karl Ravech, ex-linebacker Bart Scott, NFL analyst Charles Davis, SportsCenter icon David Lloyd and injury expert Stephania Bell.
Now Outkick is reporting that Newton will follow them out the door, less than two years after he was hired to join Stephen A. Smith on First Take and only 11 months after signing a contract extension.
ESPN declined to comment when contacted by the Daily Mail.
Last season the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback was elevated by ESPN to replace Shannon Sharpe as Smith’s main co-host on Monday’s edition of the morning sports talk show, which is its highest-rated day of the week.
Former NFL MVP Cam Newton has become the latest casualty of ESPN’s brutal round of cuts
NFL analyst Ryan Clark was reportedly fired by the network while filming a show on Monday
It is believed the company will now search for a permanent replacement for him on Monday’s First Take broadcasts.
Newton had a slight falling out with Smith, who has become the face of ESPN’s sports coverage in recent years, back in the spring after the ex-Carolina Panthers signal caller invited Jason Whitlock onto his podcast.
Given there is no love lost between him and Whitlock, Smith hit out at his First Take colleague for not defending him when his arch-nemesis accused him of lying in his 2023 memoir.
Newton was only handed a new deal by ESPN in August 2025, yet almost six months later the NFL acquired a 10 percent equity stake in the broadcasting company, which received NFL Network and other assets in return.
In a memo sent to staffers this week, which was obtained by Awful Announcing, ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said they have been forced to make ‘difficult decisions about job impacts that we will be communicating today’ as part of restructuring in light of the NFL deal.
The full memo reads: ‘Team: 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. Even in moments like these, the strength of ESPN comes from our people, our teamwork and our shared mission to serve sports fans.’
ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro said they have been forced to make ‘difficult decisions’ in the wake of the NFL acquiring a 10 percent equity stake in the network
Both NFL insider Tom Pelissero (left) and analyst Charles Davis (right) have been cut by ESPN
Veteran commentator Karl Ravech is also being laid off, according to Front Office Sports
Newton, who was only handed a new deal by ESPN last August, spent two years on First Take
Despite promising to treat employees with ‘compassion and respect’ in the process, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand claims that Clark found out he was being laid off while he was in the middle of taping ‘NFL Live’ on Monday afternoon.
Sources told the outlet that the former NFL star did not finish the program after hearing of the news.
In a follow-up report, Marchand says ESPN initially planned to inform Clark on Tuesday morning that he was being let go. However, ESPN reportedly feared a leak of the news before they could inform him after media inquiries were sent asking about his status at the company.
Just over a month before triggering the round of cuts, it was revealed by Marchand that ESPN and representatives for Pat McAfee are discussing an extension to his contract that would double his salary to more than $60m per year.
McAfee, who hosts his daily three-hour ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on the network, has two years to run on his current $30m deal.
It is believed that ESPN consider his contract as a separate ‘talent’ agreement, which differs from most of its other on-air personalities.
