There are very few people in the mainstream sports media who are rising in notoriety quicker than former Pittsburgh Steelers S Ryan Clark. From his appearances on ESPN’s Get Up and NFL Live to his own project The Pivot Podcast, his young career as a broadcaster is a smashing success. At the end of February, Clark signed a new contract with ESPN to ensure he stays with the network.
This came after a Feb. 14 post by Clark on social media that stated his contract was expiring and it seemed up in the air whether ESPN valued him the way that he values himself. Clearly, the two sides came to an agreement. Clark appeared on All Things Covered with former Steelers CBs Bryant McFadden and Patrick Peterson on Wednesday and discussed his new contract with ESPN. He was asked which negotiation process is more nerve-wracking between his broadcasting career and his time playing in the NFL.
“I think TV a little more because I did this contract myself,” Clark said. “I had conversations with other networks and other entities that wanted to sort of pick my brain and see would I be willing to leave ESPN and work with them. I was actually offered my own show, which is something that I would love to do one day as well.
“I was actually offered that somebody wanted to start a network and build it around me, give me equity in it. And so it was a lot of good conversations that I was able to have because I took my time because I didn’t let ESPN force me to re-sign.”
Similar to a guy like Pat McAfee, who received a large deal with ESPN to air his show on its network every weekday, it sounds like networks and other entities were vying for Clark’s services to build things around his brand and likeness. Last year, he won his first sports Emmy for “Outstanding Personality/Studio Analyst,” so it is no surprise to see his career continue to trend upwards. He was once again nominated for an Emmy this year.
Clark has set out to prove that he is the best of the best in broadcasting, and that drive has carried over from his time in the NFL.
“I was undrafted,” Clark said. “As good as I was in Pittsburgh, I understood I wasn’t Troy [Polamalu]. As good as I was in Washington, I understood I wasn’t Sean [Taylor]…it’s hard to say this and not sound arrogant or confident, but in this world [of broadcasting], I am Troy. In this world, I am Sean.”
Given the other opportunities that he said he was receiving during the negotiation process, ESPN must have given him a life-changing new contract. No more playing second fiddle as he said he was on the football field. He is now the main event and will continue to grow in his broadcasting career to new heights.
He is also adding another job title to his resume as he teased a documentary that he is executive producing. He didn’t say who the documentary is covering but added that he hopes to sell it to someone this summer.
From an undrafted free agent to being one of the preeminent personalities in sports media, you can’t help but feel happy for Clark. And really, he’s just getting started.
