NFL analyst Damien Woody confirmed that ESPN did not renew his contract after 15 years amid widespread cuts of on-air talent at the Worldwide Leader.
“Being at ESPN for 15 years, it’s been an absolute joy,” Woody, 48, told The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand.
The former two-time Super Bowl champion offensive lineman with the Patriots and ex-Jet — who appears on “Get Up,” “First Take,” “Fantasy Football Now” and “SportsCenter” — will continue his broadcast duties for the remainder of the month by his choice.
Woody immediately made the transition to ESPN television analyst after announcing his retirement from pro football in August 2011 following three years with the Jets.
He wasn’t the only NFL analyst affect by ESPN’s latest round of cuts.
Ryan Clark and Bart Scott were both let go last month.
Clark — who joined the company in 2015 and won a Sports Emmy in May 2023 for Outstanding Personality/Studio Analyst for this work at ESPN — found out that he was being laid off mid-show on “NFL Live.”
MLB play-by-play announcer/host Karl Ravech, NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, “SportsCenter” anchor David Lloyd, Injury/fantasy football analyst Stephania Bell, NFL Network analyst Charles Davis, “First Take” contributor Cam Newton, and boxing, MMA and pro wrestling reporter Andreas Hale were all part of ESPN’s layoffs.
ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro explained in an internal memo, obtained by Front Office Sports, that most of the layoffs stemmed from redundancies following the Worldwide Leader’s $3 billion purchase of NFL Network in January.
“Over the past several months, we’ve made significant progress integrating the NFL assets that we acquired into ESPN,” Pitaro wrote the memo to staff. “Throughout this process, we have taken the time to carefully evaluate our collective teams, resources and organizational structure to best position us for the future.
ESPN’s $3 billion purchase of NFL Network — and other assets including the RedZone channel and NFL Fantasy Football — was finalized as of January 2026.
