Robert Griffin III and Samantha Ponder have been fired by ESPN, according to a report from The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. According to the report these decisions were strictly budgetary.
The timing of the announcements was shocking, as was the wording. The NFL season is just a few weeks away and Ponder most recently hosted Sunday NFL Countdown. She had been with ESPN since 2011.
Griffin joined ESPN in 2021 and had two years remaining on his contract. He was a rising star at ESPN and was regularly featured on their high-profile morning shows as well as in a prominent role on Monday Night Countdown. He was recently replaced on Countdown by Jason Kelce.