Ryan Clark sends cryptic message about future as ESPN deal ends

Ryan Clark, who played for over a decade in the NFL and won a Super Bowl, announced an apparent departure from ESPN. With the NFL season over, it looks like Clark will be away from the ESPN cameras for quite a bit.

In an emotional video posted to Twitter, Clark detailed he signed an extension with ESPN three years ago. He said he set out to prove himself as the best analyst in the world.

But due to apparent disagreements about his worth on a new deal, Clark appears to be leaving the company to focus on his own pursuits. He had a lengthy explanation in his video.

3 years ago I signed an extension with ESPN. I was so grateful for more time. I excited to prove I was worth more, felt I deserved more. We disagreed, & that’s ok. I set out on a mission to leave no doubt, end all conversations about my who I was in this business. I added… pic.twitter.com/oVrClmctUg

— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) February 14, 2024

“This started three years ago. I did my ESPN deal. It wasn’t what I wanted,” Clark said. “You know, I realized that I had to do more. And honestly, I felt played. The worst thing for anybody that’s from New Orleans is to feel played. But I felt like I deserved something.

“They didn’t feel like I deserved it. And so I set out that day and I said that day that in three years, I’ll be the best in the world doing this, that there’ll be no stone left unturned. I leave no doubt that there was nobody in the world that was like me. So I started my own stuff. I started The Pivot, I did the work I got on the road. I went to every show they put me on to make sure I crushed it.” 

With Super Bowl LVIII in the rearview mirror, football season is over. Clark was present on tons of ESPN programming, as well as Inside The NFL. He also hosts his own podcast, The Pivot, which has over 800,000 subscribers on YouTube.

Clark also co-hosted an MMA show with former UFC champion Daniel Cormier on ESPN MMA’s YouTube channel, which has a shade under two million subscribers. Clark already announced his departure from that show.

“So now, here we are against the season’s over,” Clark said. “Inside the NFL is finished. And somebody’s got to pay the piper and the season. You know, we get what we want, or we make a decision to stand on what we’re worth. It’s not that I think that I should be payed more than anybody that does the job. I just want what I’m worth.

“And if they think that I’m the best doing it, then that’s what’ll happen. You know, when the year started, I said I was going to do more. I was going to be in more places, I was going to work harder than everybody. 

“But what I realized is you only got so much to give and all you can give is all the energy that God gives you. And I did that, but I also learned that you run out and at some point you don’t have nothing left. Your health, your mental stability, emotional strength, family, all of it. It takes a toll on it all.” 

Clark cited burnout, essentially, as another factor for decision to cut back. Heck, if you turned on ESPN, you saw him on Get Up, First Take, SportsCenter, NFL Live, shall we go on? Monday Night Countdown is another.

“So I said I’d do whatever it took to get what I want,” Clark said. “And then I’d work harder and longer now to work less and make more then. And I felt like I put myself in that spot. So the hopes is the next time you see me wherever they may be, that all the decisions I made, turn into me getting everything up and working a little less.

“If that happens, you’ll still be seeing me, maybe not as much, but probably a little more rested and happier. But one thing don’t change. I still want to be the best. That’s always the goal. That should be yours too.”