ESPN parts ways with Ryan Clark amid companywide layoffs

In a bit of shocking news from the sports media world on Monday, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic has reported that ESPN has parted ways with NFL analyst Ryan Clark.

Ryan Clark got fired mid-show on Monday

According to Marchand, sources indicated to him that Clark was informed of ESPN's decision Monday afternoon during the filming of "NFL Live." Clark abruptly left the set and did not finish the remainder of the show.

Clark was making more than $2 million per year at ESPN and had spent the past 10 years with the network. He was slated to be a major part of Super Bowl LXI coverage next year, the first Super Bowl ever hosted by ESPN.

Clark was a regular on shows such as “First Take,” “Get Up” and “NFL Live,” and even has his own podcast, “The Pivot,” on which he often speaks from the heart about issues that impact athletes. There was apparently some animosity between Clark and ESPN that led to his dismissal.

"ESPN executives soured on Clark because of issues with his words, a dynamic that peaked with an on- and off-air incident this past season involving colleague Peter Schrager," Marchand wrote.

More layoffs are expected to come from ESPN

According to Marchand, Clark isn't the only layoff expected to come from within the company this week.

"ESPN and its sister platform, NFL Network, are expected to have more layoffs Tuesday as part of broader cuts at its parent company, Disney. There are expected to be a small number of layoffs of Bristol-based on-air personalities at ESPN, as well as a larger number of employees, both on- and off-the-air, from NFL Network."

Layoffs in any capacity are never a good thing, and it certainly appears that more big ones will be taking place throughout the week.