In July, ESPN elected to cut ties with Ryan Clark, a former NFL player turned analyst for the sports broadcasting network.
But Clark didn’t sit around and feel sorry for himself. Instead, he leaned further into his media company, Pivot25 Productions, primarily with “The Pivot” podcast, which has over a million YouTube subscribers and recently landed a streaming deal with Netflix.
That decision from Clark has paid off. News broke on Tuesday that Clark and Pivot25 Productions have secured an investment from Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks.
A news release said that Schultz will focus on turning Clark’s media company into an “enduring media enterprise”.
Clark, who spent eight seasons playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers and won Super Bowl XLIII, also addressed this news on X Tuesday morning, writing, “New days and continued blessings. 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’.”
Clark has been nothing but professional when speaking publicly about ESPN since the company decided to fire him.
Still,this investment from Schutlz has got to feel great for Clark, and not just because of the new financial backing he and his media company now has, given how it makes ESPN’s decision look in hindsight.
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