Report: NFL Countdown host Sam Ponder fired by ESPN

As part of cost-cutting moves, ESPN has chosen to part ways with long-time NFL Countdown host Sam Ponder this week, Andrew Marchand of the Athletic reported on Thursday. Ponder is not alone in her exit from the worldwide leader in sports, ESPN is also firing former Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III. Griffin and Ponder are the only expected departures at this time, Marchand added.

Ponder, wife to former Minnesota Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder, was promoted at ESPN as the host of NFL Countdown in 2017. She was the third person to play host of the popular pre-game show after beginning at the network in 2011.

A graduate of Liberty University, Ponder also worked as a contributor on College Football Live and College GameDay from 2012 through 2016.

Prior to ESPN, Ponder was a host and reporter for Fox Sports where she contributed to both Fox Sports Net and Fox College. She covered college basketball and football in the Pac-10 and Big 12 conferences. When she joined ESPN in 2011, she was one of the Longhorn Network‘s first three talent hires.

Robert Griffin III also out at ESPN

ESPN has also fired football analyst and commentator Robert Griffin III, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. Griffin had two years remaining in his contract, according to the report. He was hired by the sports broadcasting giant in 2021 and was widely viewed at the time as a rising star in the industry.

Griffin served as a regular college football color commentator and analyst for the network and briefly worked on NFL pregame programming, like Sunday NFL Countdown.