Sunday NFL Countdown will be missing two notable faces — 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 parties reportedly earned “more than seven figures.”
The network will honor the on-screen talents’ remaining contracts, 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. She was hired in 2017 to replace Chris Berman on Countdown after she previously appeared on the pregame show College GameDay.
Griffin, for his part, was hired in 2021 and had two years left on his contract. Although Griffin was a promising hire, his role on ESPN has been diminishing as of late. He was considered for the No. 2 college football game analyst role with Sean McDonough last season, but the job ultimately went to Greg McElroy. He was also removed from Monday Night Countdown after two years behind the desk. Jason Kelce was hired by ESPN following his retirement from the Philadelphia Eagles to replace Griffin.
Us Weekly has reached out for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
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Neither Countdown star has publicly made a statement about their perspective exits. Griffin seemingly referenced ESPN’s decision with a post on X.
The former quarterback shared a clip of the 1995 movie Friday to his feed on Thursday, where John Witherspoon’s character, Willie Jones, asks Ice Cube’s Craig Jones, “How the hell did you get fired on your day off?”
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Many fans rallied to support Griffin in the comments. “Appreciate your sense of humor about it, RG! On to bigger and better,” one user responded to which another commenter added, “Respect to you for how you have handled it.”
In 2021, ESPN and Fox got into a bidding war over Griffin after he retired from the Baltimore Ravens. Multiple outlets at the time reported that the former Heisman Trophy winner’s auditions blew away both networks, although Griffin ultimately decided to sign with ESPN.
