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 first signed with ESPN in 2015.
According to _The Athletic_, [Ryan Clark](https://brobible.com/tag/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 adds that Clark’s departure is the “first part of ESPN layoffs that are expected to occur this week.”
### Ryan Clark being laid off from ESPN comes after he had to issue numerous public apologies last year
While its 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._