Sam Ponder, the host of Sunday NFL Countdown on ESPN, has reportedly been fired by the company after 13 years with the network. Ponder became the host of the Sunday NFL program in 2017, rendering her the third person to have the position in the 32-year history of the pregame show. Before her time on the program, Ponder was a member of College GameDay for four years and reported on ABC Saturday Night Football with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit in 2016. Andrew Marchand of The Athletic was the first to report of Ponder’s departure, which also coincides with the network firing Robert Griffin III with time remaining on his contract.
Before she joined ESPN in 2011, Ponder worked as a host and reporter for FOX Sports where she contributed to its coverage of college basketball and football in the Pac 10 and Big 12 conferences. Throughout the college football season, she joined radio programs around the country to discuss news in college sports, and she also wrote weekly columns for the FOX Sports website pertaining to the sport as well. Ponder took the role of hosting Sunday NFL Countdown when Chris Berman decided to leave the show after 31 years. Marchand reports that she was entering the final season of a three-year deal for more than $3 million.
ESPN has not named a new host for Sunday NFL Countdown ahead of the new NFL season, which begins in just over two weeks. The network let go of several personalities last year as part of a larger wave of layoffs at The Walt Disney Company to slash $5.5 billion in operating costs, including Suzy Kolber, Jalen Rose, Jeff Van Gundy and Max Kellerman. ESPN commences its coverage of live regular-season National Football League games with the season premiere of Monday Night Football on Monday, Sept. 9 when the New York Jets visit the San Francisco 49ers at 8:20 p.m. EST.
