ESPN fired NFL studio host Samantha Ponder and football analyst Robert Griffin III, The Athletic reported Thursday.
Per the report, Ponder and Griffin were dismissed for financial reasons and were the only two on-air personalities to lose their jobs as ESPN prepares to close its fiscal year next month. Both Ponder and Griffin earned seven-figure annual salaries, according to The Athletic.
Ponder joined ESPN in 2011 and initially served primarily as a sideline reporter. She became host of “Sunday NFL Countdown” in March 2017, becoming just the third person to hold the job in the show’s first 32 years and working alongside, most recently, a panel of former NFL head coach Rex Ryan and retired players Tedy Bruschi, Randy Moss and Alex Smith.
Potential replacements for Ponder include “NFL Live” host Laura Rutledge and longtime ESPN personality Mike Greenberg.
Griffin, a former Heisman Trophy winner at Baylor and Pro Bowl NFL quarterback, had been a college football and NFL analyst at ESPN since 2021. He worked on the broadcasts of weekly college football games and joined the “Monday Night Countdown” crew in 2022, but ESPN announced in May that recently retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce would be sliding into Griffin’s spot this fall.
Griffin had been considered a rising star in the industry. The No. 2 pick of the 2012 NFL Draft by Washington, he appeared in 56 NFL games with three teams over seven seasons.
Per The Athletic, Griffin had two years remaining on his contract. Multiple outlets reported in March 2022 that Ponder had signed a three-year deal to remain with the network.
As of early Thursday afternoon, ESPN had not commented on the report.
–Field Level Media