Former NFL player and analyst Cam Newton, 37, has broken his silence following mass layoffs at ESPN. As we previously shared, former NFL player and analyst Ryan Clark, 46, was the first to go on Monday (July 20). ESPN executives feared there was a leak and he would learn about his own firing on social media.
RELATED: Cam Newton Reportedly Fired From ESPN Amid Big LayOffs With The Network
When the news broke, it was also reported that Clark’s firing wouldn’t be the last and that there was another round of layoffs scheduled for Tuesday (July 21). As expected, more analysts were let go, including Cam Newton.
Newton had signed a multi-year extension with ESPN in August 2025. The deal saw him expanding his role on ESPN’s ‘First Take.’ However, the contract didn’t even last a full year. Following the news, Newton took to his own sports podcast, ‘4th&1,’ to officially address the layoff.
July 2026 ESPN And NFL Network Layoffs Include 10 Employees
- Cam Newton—NFL analyst and former Carolina Panthers quarterback
- Ryan Clark—NFL analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers safety
- Karl Ravech—MLB play-by-play announcer and “Baseball Tonight” host
- Tom Pelissero—NFL Network insider
- Stephania Bell—NFL injury analyst and physician who had been a fixture on ESPN’s NFL coverage
- David Lloyd—SportsCenter anchor
- Charles Davis—NFL Network analyst and draft expert
- Bart Scott—NFL analyst and radio co-host
- Andreas Hale—Boxing, MMA and professional wrestling reporter
- Dan Hajducky—ESPN.com staff writer
While speaking on the podcast, Newton expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to work with ESPN, his colleagues, and the production crew. He said he viewed the gig as “an internship,” soaking up as much knowledge, skills, and relationships as he could.
“If you don’t own your own platform, you’re going to get overlooked, bypassed and be extinct, just like dinosaurs. You cannot, you will not, make me hate my experience with ESPN. I did not have that education. I am a former athlete that did not study journalism when I had the opportunity to study it. … So now when you see certain things and you analyze and you start to say like this is how production works, you’d be a fool not to take your notes.”
He briefly addressed Clark’s layoff — which arrived during the middle of his broadcast on ‘NFL Live.’ Despite how Clark was done by ESPN executives, Newton said Clark will be good and so will he.
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