00:00If you've turned to ESPN this week and you've noticed a face or two or even three were missing,
00:07then you took to social media, well, you've learned that the biggest shakeup in Bristol
00:11over the last couple of decades has started, and trust me, it's still far from over.
00:16We're actually witnessing a full roster teardown across NFL, NBA, and MLB coverage.
00:23Some say it ain't fair. Some say it's just business.
00:25Some people have hit the comments to celebrate some of the firings or people being laid off.
00:31Others have actually hit the comments to condemn them.
00:34You guys do what you want, but here's a list of who's out so far and what that means for
00:40you, the viewer.
00:41First up, Ryan Clark.
00:43This has been the most talked about person or analyst that's been laid off of them all.
00:50Laid off mid-broadcast during NFL Live.
00:53He actually found out on air and didn't finish the show.
00:57Now, that's the termination that made this entire story blow up the way it has.
01:01Even Stephen A. Smith took to his podcast to say something about R.C. getting laid off.
01:07Secondly, Karl Ravich has been a staple in their MLB broadcast over the last three decades.
01:14He was calling the Dodgers-Phillies game the night before he even got the news.
01:18Third, Cam Newton.
01:20This is the one that nobody saw coming.
01:23He just signed a new multi-year deal in the summer of 2025, and he's now gone a year later
01:30off of first take.
01:31Next up, Bart Scott, former New York Jet.
01:34He just lost his role on ESPN Radio and the studio show Get Up.
01:40Also allow NFL Insider, Tom Pellicero, Charles Davis, Stefania Bell, David Lloyd, and Andreas Hale.
01:49Now, this list was still growing as of this morning, and by the time you're watching, it may even be
01:55longer.
01:56Now, I mentioned the why of all the terminations, why they're happening in our video yesterday,
02:03but let me go ahead and quickly refresh you guys' memory.
02:06It's not just budget cuts.
02:08This is a merger problem.
02:09ESPN acquired NFL Network, NFL Fantasy, and Red Zone Distribution back in April,
02:15and now you've got two staffs doing the same job.
02:19On top of that, the NFL actually took a 10% equity stake in ESPN as part of that deal.
02:26So in a weird way, the league is now a stakeholder in who covers the league.
02:32There's also been reports that ESPN is betting big on a handful of big personalities or on-air talent over
02:39a deep bench of specialists,
02:41which means fewer voices, bigger paychecks, and louder takes.
02:46Now, reports have the network exploring a deal worth up to $60 million for Pat McAfee, even as it cuts
02:54long-time analysts loose.
02:56Now, this list is going to be changing throughout the course of the week, but the bigger story isn't who's
03:02gone.
03:02It's what ESPN is telling you about what it wants sports TV to look like going forward.
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