ESPN Names 'Sunday NFL Countdown' Replacement After Sam Ponder Firing

Mike Greenberg will replace Sam Ponder as the host of Sunday NFL Countdown following Ponder's firing last week, ESPN announced in a shared on Tuesday (August 20).

"Host Mike Greenberg will join the returning analysts – Super Bowl Champions Tedy Bruschi and Rex Ryan , Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss , three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Alex Smith ," the network wrote ahead of the show's 40th season.

Greenberg joined ESPN in 1996 and has served several on-air roles, most notably the radio and later television program Mike & Mike alongside former NFL offensive lineman Mike Golic from 2000 to 2017 and later Get Up , which he's hosted since its 2018 debut. Ponder and former NFL quarterback turned analyst Robert Griffin III were included in the latest round of firings involving on-air talent due to financial reasons, the Athletic 's Andrew Marchand reported last Friday (August 16).

Ponder, 38, who joined the network in 2011 and had served as the host of Sunday NFL Countdown since 2017, replacing legendary ESPN host Chris Berman , was entering the final year of a three-year contract reported to be worth more than $3 million, sources confirmed to March, who initially reported that Greenberg and said NFL Live host Laura Rutledge were potential replacements for the Sunday NFL Countdown hosting gig.