ESPN lets go of football analyst Robert Griffin III and host Samantha Ponder, as reported
According to a report from The Athletic, ESPN has terminated the contracts of football analyst Robert Griffin III and host Samantha Ponder.
Griffin, who is a former NFL quarterback and won the Heisman Trophy at Baylor, began working with ESPN in 2021 as an analyst for college football and the NFL.
He became part of “Monday Night Countdown” in the 2022 season and contributed to several shows on the network.
The Athletic mentions that Griffin had two years left on his contract, and he will still receive his annual salary in the seven-figure range. Recently, he was replaced on “Monday Night Countdown” by former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
At 34 years old, Griffin had an eight-season NFL career with the Washington Football Team, Cleveland Browns, and Baltimore Ravens after being drafted second overall in the 2012 NFL draft. His most successful season was his rookie year, during which he earned the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award and led Washington to the playoffs. Over his career, he recorded a starting record of 16-26, passing for 9,271 yards with 43 touchdowns and rushing for 1,809 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Griffin seemed to respond to the news with a video posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The same report indicates that Ponder, who was the host of “Sunday NFL Countdown,” has also been let go. Their terminations are part of ESPN’s annual budget review conducted by Disney, the parent company of ESPN, as it approaches the end of its fiscal year.
Ponder had been a part of ESPN since 2011. Prior to her role on “Sunday NFL Countdown,” she worked as a reporter for “Saturday Night Football” on ABC and contributed to “College GameDay.” The report suggested potential candidates to take over Ponder’s position on “Sunday NFL Countdown,” including Laura Rutledge from “NFL Live” and Mike Greenberg from “Get Up.”