Ryan Clark reportedly agrees to new deal with ESPN after declaring he 'felt played' by previous contract
Ryan Clark publicly aired his contract grievances with ESPN on Feb. 14.
On Monday, he reportedly agreed to a new deal with the network. The Athletic's Andrew Marchand reports that the NFL analyst has verbally agreed to a new contract to remain at ESPN. Per Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, the deal is expected to pay him more than $2 million annually. The length of the contract wasn't reported.
Per FOS, the contract puts Clark among ESPN's highest-paid NFL analysts, exceeding the pay of colleague Mina Kimes, who reportedly makes $1.7 million per year via a contract she signed in 2023. Clark has worked at ESPN since 2015 following a 13-year career as a defensive back in the NFL.
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Clark's deal arrives less than two weeks after he said on social media that he "felt played" by his previous contract with ESPN. That contract expired in February. He posted a three-plus-minute video on Feb. 14 expressing his displeasure and implying there was an impasse in negotiations.
"It wasn’t what I wanted," Clark said of his previous deal. "Honestly, I felt played. … I felt like I deserved something that they didn’t feel like I deserved."
He then said he was willing to walk away from negotiations.
"Somebody’s gotta pay the piper," Clark continued. "And it’s either we get what we want or we make the decision to stand on what we’re worth.
"It’s not that I think that I should be paid more than anybody who does the job. I just want what I’m worth."
Per FOS, the new contract will allow Clark to continue to host his podcast, "The Pivot," and work on The CW's "Inside the NFL," neither of which is affiliated with ESPN.
