Former NFL MVP Cam Newton was among the biggest names impacted by the mass ESPN layoffs this week.
Newton started appearing on the popular show “First Take” alongside Stephen A. Smith in 2024 before signing a multi-year contract extension in 2025.
Cam Newton Breaks Silence on ESPN Firing
During Tuesday’s segment of his “4th and 1” podcast, Newton revealed the valuable lesson that he learned from working for ESPN and getting unexpectedly fired by the network this week.
“If you don’t own your own platform, you’re gonna get overlooked, bypassed and be extinct just like dinosaurs. It’s unfortunate what happened to Ryan Clark,” Newton said. “What I will tell you is this, Ryan Clark is going to be okay. The Pivot (Clark’s podcast) ain’t going nowhere. It’s unfortunate what happened to me, some would think, but I’m good. ‘4th and 1’ ain’t going nowhere.”
Newton pinpointed several personalities that have been fired by networks in the past but have landed on their feet because of their own platforms.
He highlighted former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho, who was let go by Fox Sports and went on to set up the popular “Speakeasy” podcast.
“When you think about what happened to (Emmanuel) Acho, Joy Taylor,” Newton added. “Different circumstances, different situations, different networks, but this is what you have to understand, when you look at other sports personalities having and taking control of their own narrative.
“It’s imperative that walking into this industry, you would be a fool, asinine behavior, if you don’t take that opportunity to say, ‘Number one, I need to learn as much as I possibly can because I don’t know when that time is gonna call when I get tapped on my shoulder. Number two, take this as a way to bring more attention and to magnify your personal IP.’ You can’t make me hate ESPN. What I’ve learned, it was an internship almost.”
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The mass ESPN layoffs started with the shocking firing of Ryan Clark during the filming of “NFL Live” on Monday and continued with several notable names, including Tom Pelissero, Charles Davis, Karl Ravech and David Lloyd being let go.
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro revealed in an internal memo that the layoffs were a result of ESPN’s takeover of the NFL Network in January.
In 2023, ESPN had a similar mass clearout during which Todd McShay, Suzy Kolber, and Jeff Van Gundy, among others, were dismissed from the network.
