Samantha Ponder, Robert Griffin III Fired at ESPN: Report

Sunday is the NFL Countdown there will be two notable faces – the host Samantha Ponder and analyst Robert Griffin III.

Ponder, 38, and Griffin, 34, were reportedly fired by ESPN for financial reasons, The Athletic reported on Thursday, August 15, noting that both sides reportedly received “more than seven figures.”

The network will honor the remaining contracts of the on-screen talent, but they will no longer appear on screen. Ponder was in the final year of a three-year deal with ESPN, a source told the outlet, worth an estimated $3 million. He was hired in 2017 to act as a substitute Chris Berman to Counting down after he appeared on the pre-game show College Game Day.

Griffin was hired in 2021 and had two years left on his contract. While Griffin has been a promising career, his role at ESPN has been on the decline as of late. He was considered for the No. 1 college football analyst role. 2 Sean McDonough last season, but the job finally went Greg McElroy. He was also removed Monday Night Countdown after two years behind a desk. Jason Kelce hired by ESPN following Griffin’s retirement from the Philadelphia Eagles.

Us Weekly has reached out for comment but did not respond at press time.

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Once again Counting down star has made a public statement about the release of their opinion. Griffin appeared to refer to ESPN’s decision in a post on X.

The former quarterback shared a clip from the 1995 movie On Friday at his dinner on Thursday, there John WitherspoonWillie Jones’ character, he asks Ice Cube‘s Craig Jones, “How did you get fired on your day off?”

Many fans rallied to support Griffin in the comments. “Appreciate how funny you are, RG! Moving on to bigger and better,” one user responded while another commenter added, “Respect to you for the way you did it.”

In 2021, ESPN and Fox entered the battle to call up Griffin after he retired from the Baltimore Ravens. Multiple outlets at the time reported that the Heisman Trophy winner’s interview ended with both networks, though Griffin ultimately decided to sign with ESPN.