A good part of Damien Woody’s childhood was spent stuttering, second-guessing his words, and trying not to let it consume his thoughts. That’s what makes his journey to becoming a go-to ESPN analyst all the more remarkable, regularly appearing on shows such as ‘Get Up’, ‘First Take’, and ‘Fantasy Football Now’. What once weighed heavily on him turned into a career in front of the microphone.

And that’s exactly what he would like to remember as he bids ESPN goodbye. His contract was not renewed by the network, and though he will appear on the air this month, this relationship is ending soon.

“Being at ESPN for 15 years, it’s been an absolute joy,” Woody said to The Athletic‘s Andrew Marchand.

“At the end of the day, I just want to talk ball.”

But it doesn’t stop here. Woody also took to X and shared his thoughts:

“Still processing it all, but I want to thank all of my colleagues at ESPN who made it a joy to talk ball for 15 yrs. Being a guy who had a serious speech impediment to working on TV was truly one of my proudest accomplishments. Looking forward to what God has in store for me next!”

For ESPN, this situation unfolded very differently from Ryan Clark’s. Clark learned of his fate while he was on air, but Woody’s departure had been a much more deliberate process.

ESPN and Woody had been discussing the situation for weeks, exploring every option they had. When none of those paths worked out, both sides ultimately agreed that it was time to mutually part ways.

So, with his chapter at ESPN closing soon, Woody will turn his attention to finding his next opportunity.

Damien Woody had a decade-long career in the NFL (1999-2010), representing the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, and New York Jets. He was a vital starting piece of the early Patriots dynasty, winning Super Bowl XXXVI and Super Bowl XXXVIII under head coach Bill Belichick and alongside quarterback Tom Brady. But following his NFL career, Woody transitioned to broadcasting.

In 2011, he joined ESPN as an NFL analyst, and over the years, he built a successful broadcasting career. Woody was given the option to remain on the air through the end of August 2026 rather than being terminated immediately, and he seemingly has opted to fulfill that obligation by choice.

But what lies later in Woody’s broadcasting career remains to be seen. Woody is part of the broad ESPN talent cuts that include other sports figures such as Cam Newton, Bart Scott, Tom Pelissero, Ryan Clark, Charles Davis, and Karl Ravech.

The primary catalyst for the layoffs was Disney and ESPN’s $3 billion acquisition of the NFL Network and other league digital assets. Under the terms of the deal, the NFL took a 10% equity stake in ESPN in exchange for giving the sports giant control over the NFL Network, NFL Fantasy, and the RedZone channel.

Following that, in an internal staff memo, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro explicitly explained that absorbing a rival network created immense operational redundancy.

“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN. Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources, and organizational structure to best position us for the future. As a result, we had to make some difficult decisions about job impacts,” Pitaro wrote.

When the stakeholders evaluated overlapping roles, they opted to downsize staff. And the non-renewal of Damien Woody’s contract with ESPN may also fall under the same bracket, though not specified by ESPN.

Woody is an active guest on NFL podcasts, so a life outside ESPN could see him make a few more appearances on famous podcasts where his expertise could be used.

As far as other sports broadcasting networks like Fox or CBS being interested in signing Woody, that remains a possibility.

When ESPN poached Damien Woody

Years ago, FS1 was interested in Woody, but that’s when ESPN also began pursuing him. The latter aggressively pushed to get him on board and swooped in and landed the analyst.

Interestingly, FS1 tried to lure Woody away twice (2019 and again in 2022) but came up empty-handed both times. Now that ESPN is out of the picture, FS1 could pursue him if needed.

According to Woody, three people played a major role in his staying power at ESPN: former executives Norby Williamson and David Roberts, along with his current boss, Seth Markman. Their support, Woody believes, was instrumental in helping him build a lasting run at the network.

Woody also gave credit to two familiar faces at ESPN: Mike Greenberg of ‘Get Up’ and Stephen A. Smith of ‘First Take’. He credited both for playing a part in his success at the network.