ESPN Firing Cam Newton Despite Rise to Fame on First Take Does Not Surprise Social Media – “He Was Not Awesome on TV”

Former league MVP Cam Newton was becoming Stephen A. Smith's primary NFL analyst on First Take.

ESPN Firing Cam Newton Despite Rise to Fame on First Take Does Not Surprise Social Media – “He Was Not Awesome on TV”

ESPN has fired Cam Newton (Image via Imago)

ESPN is on a roll for the wrong reasons of late. After acquiring NFL Network for $3 billion, it was time to make up some of that money by letting go of key on-air personnel. After the stunning news of Ryan Clark‘s departure, Cam Newton joins him on the list of former football players losing their jobs.

There has been a constant battle between non-playing analysts and those who have first-hand experience playing at the highest level. Usually, that battle tilts to the latter, as they use their know-how to trump those who haven’t played a snap.

The network has been leaning towards bringing in more of the latter lately. But this slew of firings indicates that the tide is shifting back to those who have an opinion, rather than those whose ego still gets in the way.

Clark’s departure was largely pinned on his skirmish with Peter Schrager last year. But fans also noted that his often controversial takes did not help his case either.

But Cam Newton did not walk in the same controversial lane as Clark did. The former quarterback did have some outlandish opinions, but not threading the line is why he was a rising star on First Take.

Other than his wild opinion about Brock Purdy and some other quarterbacks, the Carolina Panthers great was usually the voice of reason. That is why it came as a shocker when it was revealed that he, too, lost his job.

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Cam Newton’s firing draws blank reactions on social media

Ryan Clark’s departure was definitely shocking for most fans. Despite his controversial takes, the broad opinion was that his presence on multiple shows would generally keep him on the payroll.

But when it came to Cam Newton, fans were not surprised. Many of them pointed out that his opinions had become lame and boring to the point where there was a belief that First Take would not lose much if they let him go.

Fans pointed out that he was no Shannon Sharpe. This meant he had to impact ratings with his analysis, which never happened. Check out those social media reactions below.

Front Office Sports obtained ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro‘s memo, in which he confirmed that the acquisition of NFL Network has necessitated such cuts. That means Cam Newton was essentially a sitting duck with how little he contributed outside of First Take.

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ESPN fires former football players-turned-analysts and an insider

In Front Office Sports’ list of personnel ESPN fired, Ryan Clark and Cam Newton might be the most famous names, but the network also let go of some people who had been with them, or with NFL Network, for quite some time.

ESPN have also fired Bart Scott and Tom Pelissero
ESPN has also fired Bart Scott and Tom Pelissero (Image via NY Post/Dov Kleiman/X)

The next famous name would be Tom Pelissero. He used to work in tandem with Ian Rapoport to break major news from around the league. Now, with ESPN taking over that department, they had one too many people working the same jobs.

With Adam Schefter and Rapoport heading that area, it seems Pelissero had his work cut out. His past work should find him a job on another network soon, but for now, he has an unemployed tag on his resume.

ESPN also let go of NFL Network analyst and former football player Charles Davis. He also provided college football analysis, but his new employer already has too many people working in that area.

The last big name to go was Bart Scott. Other than ESPN Radio, he was often called upon to appear on the network’s most important shows. The former linebacker used to bring his experience to his analysis, but now will have to find another platform to do so.

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