Robert Griffin III Fired by ESPN; Ex-NFL QB Reportedly Had 2 Years Left on Contract

Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III has been fired by ESPN after three years with the network, Andrew Marchand reported for The Athletic.

Sunday NFL Countdown host Sam Ponder was also fired from the network in what Marchand described as fiscal year-end "budget moves."

Griffin had two years remaining on his contract. Marchand reported that his salary, which exceeded $1 million per year, "will be honored."

Griffin appeared to confirm the news in a post on his X account:

The former Baltimore Ravens quarterback had previously served as an analyst for ESPN's Monday Night Football but was replaced prior to the 2024 season by recently retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.

Ponder and Griffin are the only ESPN employees being let go at the end of the network's fiscal year, according to Marchand.

Griffin retired from the NFL following his 2020 season with the Ravens.

He was part of Monday Night Football for the 2022 and 2023 seasons, while also appearing on ESPN's Get Up and serving as a broadcaster during college football games.

Both ESPN and Fox Sports were interested in signing Griffin after his initial tryouts for the networks, Bobby Burack reported for OutKick in 2021. Sources among the networks said Griffin's audition was "among the top tryouts they have ever viewed," Marchand wrote then for the New York Post.

Three years later, Marchand reported for The Athletic that Griffin "had been viewed as a rising star at the network, but he has leveled off, putting him at serious risk of being out on Mondays."

The acquisition of Kelce, whom Marchand reported was also pursued by NBC and CBS, appears to have helped push Griffin from the broadcast lineup altogether.

Griffin spent seven seasons in the NFL with Washington as well as the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens before playing his final game in 2021. He has previously said an NFL team contacted him about a potential return to the league as recently as last August.