Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark has made a name for himself in the sports media world. From The Pivot to his appearances on ESPN and more, Clark has made himself one of the most well-known names in the sports media in the past few years. And his contract is with ESPN expired after the Super Bowl, and now Clark is set to return to the network, according to Andrew Marchand.
The new contract is set to pay Clark over $2 million annually and he will become one of the highest paid analysts at the network. That takes him above some of his fellow analysts at the network.
Weeks ago, Clark made another cryptic tweet that was clearly directed at ESPN’s management that it was time to make a decision and either pay him or let him walk. And while that was a gamble, it seems to have worked. The free agent status for Clark could have turned into a bidding war, but he will now return to his analyst duties with the network.
Clark has become one of ESPN’s brightest stars since joining the company following his retirement in 2014. He shares in his insight and perspective on several ESPN’s flagship properties, including SportsCenter with SVP, Get Up, NFL Live, FirstTake and other installments of SportsCenter.
A 13-year NFL veteran, Clark spent the bulk of his career in Pittsburgh, where he formed one of the league’s most fearsome safety tandems alongside Trot Polamalu.
In eight years with the Steelers, the hard-hitting Clark tallied 667 combined tackles, 44 passes defended, 12 interceptions, eleven tackles-for-loss and three forced fumbles.
He was selected to his lone Pro Bowl in 2011, and won Super Bowl XLIII with the Steelers.