Prominent NFL analyst Ryan Clark was abruptly fired while he was on air working on NFL Live. The Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Personality/Studio Analyst was one of the major names in a recent round of budget cuts. It didn’t take long for an analyst to point a finger at Stephen A. Smith, saying he was next in line.

“Ryan Clark and Stephen A. Smith lectured Cam Newton for being disloyal, and ESPN may be about to lay off all three of them,” analyst Jason Whitlock stated on his YouTube channel. “Yes, I said all three. I don’t think Stephen A is going to see all five years on his latest contract. That’s my prediction.

“Stephen A. Smith preaches loyalty the way a Fox preaches hen house security. Ask Molly Qerim, who sat next to Stephen A. for years. Held the First Take desk down. Looked good doing it. But when the wind shifted, was she protected? When she wanted a little pay bump from 500,000, did Stephen A. make it happen? Was she saved? Could she get paid?

“His leverage benefits exactly one human being on this planet. And you’re looking at his initials on that big hundred million dollar contract. Everybody else is a supporting character in the Stephen A. Smith show. Ryan Clark thought he was a partner. He was a prop. And now Ryan Clark is finding out what Molly found out, what Shannon [Sharpe] found out, that the man who talks the most about loyalty has the least of it to give.”

Stephen A. Smith is no stranger to having a hand in colleagues leaving the show. He admitted that the higher executives at ESPN knew how he didn’t think things were working well with Max Kellerman. They worked together successfully for five years, from 2016 to 2021, before the latter was fired.

According to Smith’s perception, the show had become “stale” in terms of growth. But the 58-year-old stated in September 2025 that he was blindsided by the news of Molly Qerim’s departure.

Qerim worked as the moderator on First Take for 10 years. She abruptly quit, and some theories quickly hinted that Smith played a role in her exit. Her contract was reportedly up after a 19-year stint. She was expecting a certain raise, which she never got. Even Smith came forward to share he had nothing to do with her exit.

“I was not behind that,” Smith said earlier this year. “I had nothing to do with that. I love Molly. Molly is a really good friend. She was on a show with me for 10 years. We were No. 1, and she had a lot to do with that.”

When Qerim was locked in negotiations, even Stephen A. Smith was doing the same. The veteran got a five-year contract extension worth over $100 million and remains the network’s highest-paid and most prominent on-air personality.

Just like denying involvement in Qerim’s departure, Smith expressed that his bosses knew he was unhappy with the network firing Ryan Clark.

“My brother, Ryan Clark, a person that I consider to be arguably the best NFL analyst in America, is no longer a member of ESPN,” Smith said. “I can’t even tell y’all how much that hurts. I’m going to miss him. I am not happy about this decision one bit. The bosses know I’m not happy about this decision; I’ve made that very, very clear.”

Clark was the first domino to fall, but several colleagues, including Bart Scott, Tom Pelissero, Karl Ravech, Cam Newton, Charles Davis, and others, were fired.