Ryan Clark has officially turned the page on his sports media career. He reflected on the journey to establishing The Pivot Sports on the latest episode of The Pivot on Netflix.
What We Know: Clark exited ESPN this summer after more than a decade at the network. ESPN let him go during a live edition of NFL Live, rather than through a standard layoff notice. Now, Netflix has signed The Pivot to a multi-year deal. In addition, Clark also helped form a new weekly football program alongside co-hosts and former NFL players Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor. The Pivot Sports made its debut on Monday via YouTube.
What They Said: (All quotes via The Pivot *Netflix*):
Ryan Clark thankful for Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor is helping him launch The Pivot Sports: Thank you both from the bottom of my heart. Y’all know what doing that job meant to me, and the people that got to see me do it. Y’all know what Mondays meant to me. I know it’s a sacrifice. Both of you guys have younger kids than me. To be in the day before we shoot and study. To be up late and be here early in the morning. Like it was, it meant the world to me that we got to sit here and do it our way today.”
Ryan Clark is happy with how they landed The Pivot Sports: “When I realized we’d get to the show, I thought it would work. I don’t have a fear that it wouldn’t work. The fear I had was it would work, it’d be really good, and I still wouldn’t be content. But I’m content, like I’m actually happy.”
Ryan Clark on the uncertainty of taking on new projects in media following ESPN departure: “I just wanted to do a podcast. I want to be really good at that. And when we started this endeavor, I was like, man, I think it’d be really cool to have a show. I’ll be honest, I thought super small. Every time somebody brought up a big idea to me, I was like, I don’t know if we’re gonna be able to do that.”
Ryan Clark hopes to make The Pivot Sports into a bigger project: “We were waiting for the right thing. We were just working, and we got to the right thing. Y’all could have been like, shoot, we didn’t pay. Like I ain’t tripping. But for y’all to want to build this and do this, and I do think this becomes something bigger. I do hope we can do multiple days, and this becomes a job, like not just an endeavor, not just a hobby. Not just something we’re doing because we don’t have another thing, but something we’re doing because it’s great, and we want to be a part of it.”
What Remains Unclear: Financial terms of the Netflix deal remain undisclosed. Meanwhile, Netflix holds first-negotiation rights on future projects from Pivot25 Productions, Clark’s production company. How those projects will ultimately take shape is still unknown.
What It Means: Ryan Clark won the post-ESPN career elevation award. Following his exit from the network, he’s arranged deals with Netflix and NFL Films in order to build and expand his sports commentary distribution. For Clark, the Netflix partnership turns a turbulent exit into an expanded independent platform that likely drew the project millions. Ultimately, it shows athlete-built media can rival traditional networks on their own terms.
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