Ryan Clark sat on the set of NFL Live in July, unaware his 11-year run at ESPN was about to end in a matter of minutes. During a commercial break, network executives notified him that he was being let go. Clark did not even return to finish the broadcast. He later clarified on social media that when he asked management, “Should I be done now?” the network explicitly told him, “Yes,” effectively ending his ESPN career mid-episode.
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However, Clark bounced back by September with a weekly show of his own, The Pivot Sports with Ryan Clark. Now, the parent media company, Pivot25 Productions, behind the podcast has secured financial backing from a former owner tied to the Starbucks empire, prompting Clark to address the partnership.
“New days and continued blessings,” Clark wrote on X. “Building a relationship with Howard Schultz has taught me so much about business already. I’m excited to continue to learn & grow with him as a partner. As the saying goes. ‘Onward & Upward.’”
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has joined Pivot25 Productions as both a strategic partner and a financial investor.
“I have always believed that the most enduring businesses are built at the intersection of great ideas, authentic leadership and human connection,” Schultz said. “That is what I see in Ryan Clark, Alicia Zubikowski and the entire Pivot25 team.”
Pivot25 Productions is a media company co-founded by former NFL star and Emmy-winning sports analyst Ryan Clark alongside veteran producer Alicia Zubikowski. Their flagship property is The Pivot Podcast, which Clark hosts alongside former NFL stars Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor.
While the exact financial terms and dollar amounts of the investment remain undisclosed, the partnership is geared toward scaling the business into a multiplatform media enterprise.
Beyond capital, Schultz will reportedly provide strategic counsel, corporate network access, brand licensing expertise, and commercial relationship guidance.
During the latest episode of the Glass Half Full podcast, Ryan Clark shared a few tidbits on how he first interacted with the former Starbucks CEO.
“The first thing he did he sends me this long text message, and he talks about what happens to me,” Clark said. “He talks about this deep dive he’s done on me since he saw it happen, and how he wants to not only be a part of my comeback, but he believes that I’m a brand. He believes in things that I stand for, which I hadn’t heard from somebody of his stature who didn’t look like me. I’m just being honest.”
Howard Schultz, who bought Starbucks in 1987 for $4 million, cut all formal ties with the business when he stepped down as CEO in March, 2023, and later from Board of Directors on September 13, 2023. Since then, Schultz has made investments in multiple firms and now in Clark’s Pivot25 Productions.
“We are living through a profound transformation in media,” Schultz said in a statement about his recent investment. “Audiences are increasingly choosing people and platforms they trust over traditional institutions, and the barriers between sports, business, culture and entertainment are disappearing.
“Ryan, Alicia, and the team have built something special within this new landscape. They have earned an audience not simply because of who they are or what they accomplished, but because of the honesty, curiosity and humanity they bring to their conversations.”
As it seems, Howard Schultz and Ryan Clark are both excited for their new journey as partners, especially after how the past few months have been for the former NFL safety.
ESPN Cut Ties With Ryan Clark After 11 Years
After ESPN let go of Ryan Clark, he openly called out the channel for orchestrating the timing to deliberately embarrass him.
“So let me put this to bed. I wasn’t laid off. I was fired, right? They’re using layoffs as a cover and a camouflage for what they already intended on doing, but there was no cause for it. So because there was no cause for it, you couldn’t just fire me. So you had to wait to the layoff so you could camouflage it and veil it. But here’s the other thing: if I was laid off, like everybody else, they came out on Tuesday. Mine came out on Friday,” Clark said on his The Pivot Podcast in July.
Ryan Clark’s departure came during a period of massive corporate restructuring, as ESPN’s parent company, Disney, initiated sweeping layoffs following its $3 billion acquisition of the NFL Network.
Clark had previously signed a lucrative contract extension in February 2024 worth a reported $2 million per year. Because he was a prominent, high-earning personality, it seemed his position became a primary target for corporate budget slashing.
However, Clark remained optimistic about his future and continued running The Pivot Podcast, which secured a blockbuster multi-year partnership with Netflix last month to serve as the streaming home of the show.
