ESPN lays off Cam Newton amid talent cuts with Ryan Clark

ESPN is parting ways with Cam Newton as part of a broader round of talent layoffs that also included Ryan Clark and Tom Pelissero. The former NFL quarterback loses his First Take role opposite Stephen A. Smith less than a year after a multi-year contract extension, with the cuts tied to ESPN's NFL Network integration.

Key Takeaways

• ESPN is ending its relationship with Cam Newton in a Tuesday layoff wave that also hit Ryan Clark and Tom Pelissero.
• Newton had been Stephen A. Smith's First Take debate partner for two seasons and Monday's primary co-host last football season.
• He signed a multi-year extension in August 2025, making the exit less than a year later a stunner.
• ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro linked the job cuts to integrating NFL assets after the NFL Network deal.
• The network is expected to seek a permanent Monday First Take replacement for Newton.

Why is Cam Newton leaving ESPN right now?

Multiple sources told OutKick that ESPN will include Cam Newton in a round of talent layoffs announced as soon as Tuesday. The New York Post later reported he was fired Tuesday alongside other on-air names.

The move lands while ESPN is reshaping after acquiring NFL Network in January. In a memo cited by Variety and relayed by the Post, chairman Jimmy Pitaro said the company had evaluated teams and structures after integrating those NFL assets and had to make "difficult decisions about job impacts."

For readers tracking how media giants reorganize talent as platforms converge, related coverage lives in our Future Tech & AI Wonders hub.

What role did Cam Newton have on First Take?

Over the past two seasons, ESPN featured Newton as a debate partner for Stephen A. Smith on First Take. Last season, the network elevated him to replace Shannon Sharpe as Smith's primary Monday co-host during football season—the show's highest-rated day of the week.

Sources told OutKick that ESPN will look for a permanent replacement for Newton on Monday editions. That leaves Smith without his two main analysts for the football season in Newton and Clark, OutKick noted.

Newton, 37, is best known as the former Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots quarterback—the No. 1 overall pick in 2011, a Rookie of the Year, MVP, and Super Bowl finalist—before building a post-playing brand on bold takes opposite Smith.

How surprising is the Cam Newton layoff after his extension?

The timing is the shock. Newton signed a multi-year extension with ESPN in August 2025 to expand his First Take role, the New York Post reported—meaning the layoff comes less than a year later.

There was also recent tension with Smith. OutKick reported a public back-and-forth last spring after Newton invited Jason Whitlock—whom Smith has said he "hates with a passion"—onto his podcast. Smith criticized Newton for not defending him when Whitlock cited alleged fabrications in Smith's 2023 memoir; Newton said he did not challenge Whitlock because, in his view, there was "nothing to correct."

Yahoo Sports, citing OutKick's Bobby Burack, framed the exit as ESPN choosing a different direction while sorting its post-NFL Network structure. Full reporting is available from OutKick via Fox News.

Newton should find opportunities elsewhere, but for now the former MVP is on his way out of ESPN—and First Take Mondays will need a new voice across from Stephen A. Smith.