Given his recent addition to the talent roster at ESPN and quick rise through the ranks at First Take, Cam Newton is one of the most surprising names to be let go in the latest round of layoffs at the company.
Newton joins a list that includes NFL analyst Ryan Clark, MLB host and play-by-play man Karl Ravech, injury expert Stephania Bell, SportsCenter anchor David Lloyd, NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero, and NFL Network analyst Charles Davis. The news of Newton’s ESPN departure was first reported by Outkick’s Bobby Burack.
While some of those personalities had been with ESPN for many years, Newton had just signed a multi-year deal with ESPN last August to expand his role on First Take shortly after becoming a regular contributor to the program. He was brought on board as a replacement for Shannon Sharpe, who departed ESPN in the summer of 2025 amidst a sexual assault lawsuit and subsequent settlement. Newton was a central debate partner for Stephen A. Smith through football season, most notably making appearances at the show’s HBCU visits.
Cam Newton has been a lightning rod in his nascent media career, both on ESPN and on his own 4th & 1 podcast. The former Carolina Panthers star was no stranger to controversy and polarizing comments. And perhaps that’s part of the reason why ESPN decided to cut ties now so soon after inking him to a multi-year contract.
During the season, he was at the center of a very strange vendetta that First Take had with Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. In February, he made bizarre comments about women’s value being tied to the number of children they have. Criticism even came from colleagues within ESPN after he had Stephen A. Smith’s arch-enemy, Jason Whitlock, on his podcast. In response, Smith stated that there were a number of reasons why Newton’s First Take presence could be questioned, but that he was still supportive of his appearances on the program. And yet, Newton’s time with ESPN and First Take is now surprisingly over before the beginning of the 2026 football season.
ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro addressed ESPN employees in a company-wide memo on Tuesday morning as more layoffs were being reported publicly. In the memo, Pitaro said the moves centered around an examination following ESPN’s acquisition of NFL Network as part of the NFL’s equity deal with the network but that other parts of the company would also be affected, apparently including one of ESPN’s flagship programs.
The full updated list of ESPN’s 2026 layoffs can be found here.
About Matt Yoder