Former ESPN analyst Ryan Clark has announced two new business moves for his production company, Pivot25, just days after comparing the NFL’s treatment of players to slavery.
On September 22, Clark said former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has joined Pivot25 as a partner and investor. Clark also announced a deal with NFL Films.
“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,” Clark wrote on X on Tuesday.
Clark launched Pivot25 with producer Alicia Zubikowski in 2025, while ESPN was going through rounds of layoffs. He was later let go from the network himself as it continued cutting costs.
Clark says that after his ESPN firing, Schultz began texting him and encouraging him to expand beyond a single YouTube show. Those conversations eventually led to Schultz signing on as an investor and partner in Pivot25.
The announcements came just a day after Clark appeared in a video with former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick in which the two compared the league’s practices to slavery. Kaepernick argued that the NFL “process” and the “intention behind the process” were the same as chattel slavery.
Since leaving ESPN, Clark’s YouTube show, The Pivot Sports with Ryan Clark, has grown to 1.5 million followers and is produced in partnership with NFL Films. He co-hosts the show with former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor and former Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder.
Schultz stepped down as Starbucks CEO in 2018, weeks after the company closed 8,000 locations for a day so employees could undergo racial bias training.
