ESPN has reportedly moved on from Ryan Clark, and the timing of the decision turned heads.
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that Clark was told during Monday’s edition of NFL Live. ESPN and the NFL Network are both expected to make layoffs on Tuesday, but Clark was informed ahead of time for reasons that weren’t immediately clear.
Clark had spent more than 10 years at ESPN and, according to Marchand, was earning more than $2 million. He also was expected to play a major part in the network’s Super Bowl LXI coverage next year, when ESPN is set to broadcast the game for the first time.
Marchand also pointed to a strained relationship between Clark and ESPN executives, saying concerns over Clark’s wording played a role in the split. That tension reached a peak this past season in a public dustup with colleague Peter Schrager.
On Get Up last September, after Schrager defended Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb following an opening-night loss, Clark fired back with, “That’s the non-player in you.”
Schrager pushed back, telling Clark not to belittle him and noting that different perspectives mattered. Clark answered, “Peter, what I need for you to do is not get mad and let me finish.”
Later that day, Clark posted an apology on social media: “Today, I had an interaction with my colleague (Schrager) both on and off the air that I regret.”
The exchange made plenty of noise and became an unwanted distraction for ESPN at the start of the NFL season.
It also wasn’t the only time Clark’s ESPN situation played out publicly. Before he signed a new deal with the network in 2024, he went on social media to say his contract had expired.
"Three years ago I signed an extension with ESPN. I was so grateful for more time.
I [was] excited to prove I was worth more, felt I deserved more. We disagreed, & that’s ok.
I set out on a mission to leave no doubt, end all conversations about ... who I was in this business.
"I knew it would take effort. I knew that effort didn’t promise results, but I dug in.
Here we are now. The season is over.
The deal is up. Time to make a decision.
Either way it goes. The mission don’t change.
I want to be the best doing it. Everyone should.
I’m more motivated today than ever. I’m still the same #UndraftedFreeAgent!"
He eventually landed that new deal, but the process was very much out in the open.
Clark, 46, played 13 seasons in the NFL as a safety and is best known for his eight years with the Steelers. He was part of the team’s Super Bowl XLIII title run and made the Pro Bowl in 2011. After retiring from Pittsburgh in February 2015, he moved into broadcasting.
ESPN hired him as an NFL analyst in March 2015, and he became a familiar face on NFL Live, Get Up! and First Take. In 2022, he also launched The Pivot podcast with Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder, a show centered on sports, lifestyle and issues affecting athletes away from the field.
Now, after more than a decade at ESPN, Clark is a free agent.
In Other News...
Adrian Martinez Is Still Repping Nebraska In A Big Way
Adrian Martinez is spending part of his offseason back in Nebraska, and he is not doing it quietly. The former Cornhusker quarterback has been training alongside former North Dakota State quarterback Cole Payton while both prepare for the 2026 NFL season, and the two have even been working out with high school players at Gretna East, turning their own prep into a teaching moment for the next wave of quarterbacks.
For Nebraska fans, it is a familiar sight with a new twist: Martinez still carrying himself like a program ambassador while chasing his next NFL opportunity, and Payton doing the same as he tries to carve out his own place at the pro level. Before the drills began, Martinez also spoke with the Gretna East players about injuries and adversity, a reminder that the path from college standout to NFL roster hopeful is rarely smooth, even for quarterbacks who already know what it means to lead. [Read more 🡒]
PFF Just Sent Nebraska Fans A Big Anthony Colandrea Message
Anthony Colandrea arrives in Lincoln with a rsum that already has Big Ten people paying attention. After a strong 2025 season at UNLV, the former Virginia quarterback is stepping in as Nebraskas starter for 2026, and Pro Football Focus slotted him as the No. 3 quarterback in the conference heading into the year. For a program looking to get more out of its offense, that kind of outside respect matters, especially with Colandreas dual-threat ability giving the Huskers a different kind of presence under center.
The challenge now is turning that promise into production against a much tougher schedule. Colandreas arm and legs both flashed last season, and Nebraska is banking on him to raise the ceiling of the offense, but the margin for error gets thinner in the Big Ten. The biggest question hanging over his season is the one that has followed him before: whether he can keep the ball out of harms way enough to let the rest of the talent around him show up. [Read more 🡒]
Nebraska Cannot Keep Dodging This Running Back Question Much Longer
Nebraska has spent the better part of the summer with an uncomfortable question hanging over its running back room, and Mekhi Nelsons situation has only made it harder to ignore. Nelson was arrested in Florida on battery charges, then saw prosecutors decline to file charges, but the on-field side of the equation has remained murky as he has not taken part in team activities since the arrest.
The longer the silence lasts, the more it shapes the conversation around a position group that could use clarity before the season starts to take shape. Nebraska is expected to address Nelsons status publicly soon, and with Big Ten Media Days approaching, the program will likely have to explain where things stand and what it means for a depth chart that is already not especially deep behind Emmett Johnson. [Read more 🡒]