ESPN Sidelines Sam Ponder, Robert Griffin III Just Prior To Football Season
In a surprising move, ESPN has decided that Sam Ponder and Robert Griffin III will no longer appear on the network.
Andrew Marchand, of The Athletic, first reported the news that ESPN planned to move on from Ponder and RGIII.
Marchand says the pair were "fired" by ESPN, but that's unlikely. He noted that both have time remaining on their respective contracts, so ESPN can't simply stop paying them.
It's more likely that the network will allow the pair to look for other jobs and, should they find another gig, then negotiate a way to pay them less than the total value left on their deals.
In addition, by sidelining Ponder and Griffin for this season, ESPN can attach the money left on their contracts to this fiscal year and get them off the books for next year and beyond.
The timing of the moves is likely correlated with ESPN's fiscal year, which ends on September 30.
Ponder was one of the longest-tenured hosts at the company, having initially joined the Longhorn Network back in 2011.
Most recently, she served as the host of NFL Countdown and focused heavily on the NFL. She is also married to former NFL quarterback Christian Ponder and is an outspoken Christian.
Ponder faced some backlash when she came out in support of protecting women's sports last year.
Another ESPN personality, Sarah Spain, liked tweets that called Ponder a "bigot" after Ponder supported OutKick's Riley Gaines.
Ponder has become the latest woman that ESPN has jettisoned who espoused some conservative views. The network parted ways with Sage Steele last year.
Whether Ponder's political views played a role in her departure is unclear at this point. As someone who hosted NFL shows and worked at the company for over a decade, she likely commanded a seven-figure yearly salary.
Quarterback Christian Ponder of the Minnesota Vikings, ESPN sportscaster Sam Ponder and Offensive Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin aka RG3 of the Washington Redskins attend a 2013 Super Bowl party in New Orleans, Louisiana.
(Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
As for Griffin, he was considered a rising star at the company as recently as last year, but the network had already planned to demote him this season.
He worked on Monday Night Countdown last year, but the reviews were not positive.
Following the demotion, it's not surprising that ESPN wanted to get out from underneath his contract as quickly as possible.
It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for both of the now-former ESPN employees.