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Why Did Robert Griffin III and Co-Host Samantha Ponder Get Fired? Here’s All You Need To Know
ESPN fired analysts Robert Griffin III and Samantha Ponder in an effort to save expenses.
Wound the ego, then inflict the pain. It was just in May that ESPN demoted Robert Griffin III from his best high-profile role as a host of Monday Night Football, replacing him with Jason Kelce. Now, ESPN has altogether fired RG3. But Griffin III was not the only one to lose his job. Samantha Ponder, the host of Sunday NFL Countdown, was also fired on Thursday, per the Athletic.
The move, as reported by the Athletic, is a cost-cutting one. Both Griffin III and Ponder made more than seven figures a year. Ponder was entering the last year of her 3-year contract with ESPN, worth more than $3 million, whereas RG3 has two years remaining on his contract. Sources from the Athletic state that RG3’s annual seven-figure salary will be honored.
The Tallahassee Democrat is speculating that this move is a repercussion of him defending Florida State University from analyst Paul Finebaum’s harsh words. It all traces back to their scuffle over Finebaum picking on FSU for missing the mark in the playoffs while RG3 tried to patch up the wound.
“First of all, they have no business being in the top 10,” Finebaum said during his appearance on First Take on SportsCenter on Tuesday about FSU’s rankings. An infuriated RG3 came right at Finebaum, publicly opposing his beliefs on X, saying, “Anyone who is throwing shade at or trying to take cheap shots at Florida State for being left out of the College Football Playoff last year must be out of touch with reality.”
He added, “ THAT’S NOT SOMETHING TO MAKE LIGHT OF. That team should be CELEBRATED for what they pulled off down the stretch not mocked.”
Don’t get us wrong, Finebaum was one of the first ones to lambast the CFB committee when FSU was left out of the 2023 season. After all, it was only in their final two games that FSU’s offense shocked and surprised everyone with their dominating performance.
Now, what does Samantha Ponder have to do with any and all of this, you may ask? Well, Ponder is the wife of former FSU quarterback Christian Ponder, which is speculated to be her connection with FSU, as reported by the Tallahassee Democrat. While Samantha Ponder is yet to deny or confirm these rumors, or even issue a statement for that matter, RG3 has issued his statement about it.
Taking to his X, Griffin III wrote, “Thankful for so many people in my time at ESPN that helped me grow because they are some of the best in the business. From the broadcast booth to the studio and ESPECIALLY the people many of you never see behind the camera.”
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