Three retired NFL players who built one of sports media's biggest independent shows from scratch brought it to a Midtown Manhattan stage this week, taping a live episode of The Pivot Podcast at the Paley Museum with former Giants receiver Plaxico Burress as the featured guest. Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor and Channing Crowder recorded the show at the venue on August 4, with Burress discussing pivotal moments and off-field struggles from his career in front of a live audience.
The taping, first detailed by amNewYork, capped a run that started in Fort Lauderdale, where Taylor met with Clark and Crowder to hammer out the concept for what would become The Pivot Podcast, according to the outlet. Taylor, who rushed for more than 11,000 yards over his NFL career and made a Pro Bowl as a Jaguars running back, said he played quietly during his playing days and never expected the show to become what it is now, per the same account. He credited Clark and Crowder with pushing him to be more outspoken and talkative through the process.
From a December Rehearsal to a Live Museum Taping
Clark, Taylor and Crowder rehearsed the show back in December before it grew into the touring, high-profile production that landed at the Paley Museum, the report notes. Clark used the Manhattan stage to thank the audience and his co-hosts, and separately thanked Taylor and Crowder for supporting him through a turbulent stretch in his own career — his layoff from ESPN. Clark has spoken publicly about that departure before, including on a recent Pivot episode, and that independence from a traditional network newsroom has only sharpened the show's appeal as a platform the three hosts fully own.
An Emmy Nod and a Fast Climb Since 2022
The Pivot Podcast started in 2022 and has seen steady growth since, culminating in an Emmy nomination that cemented its place alongside legacy television productions. The show earned an official nod for Outstanding Hosted Edited Series at the 45th Annual Sports Emmy Awards, according to the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Launched on January 4, 2022, the podcast has since scaled to more than 1.4 million YouTube subscribers and over 150 million cumulative video views, as reported by Operation Sports.
Clark brought his own broadcasting pedigree into the venture, having won the 2023 Sports Emmy Award for Outstanding Personality/Studio Analyst — beating out nominees including Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal, per LSU Athletics. On the field, Clark played 13 NFL seasons as a safety from 2002 to 2014, won Super Bowl XLIII with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and earned a 2011 Pro Bowl selection, according to the ESPN Press Room. Crowder, meanwhile, spent six seasons as a Miami Dolphins linebacker from 2005 to 2010 before moving into sports radio at Miami's WQAM and television hosting on Inside the NFL, per Wikipedia.
A Growing Business Behind the Microphone
The show's commercial footprint has expanded alongside its audience. In May 2024, The Pivot Podcast landed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with sports licensing giant Fanatics, a deal that folded Fanatics Sportsbook and brand ambassadors into the show and included a sit-down interview with Tom Brady, according to Awful Announcing. That kind of deal reflects a broader shift in sports media, where independent, athlete-led shows have increasingly landed marquee interviews that once went almost exclusively to traditional television networks, per Boardroom.
The Paley Museum itself, operated by the Paley Center for Media and formerly known as the Museum of Television & Radio, regularly hosts live recordings and panels with prominent figures in television, sports and culture, according to the Paley Center. Landing a spot on that stage marks another sign of how far a YouTube-born football podcast has traveled — from a planning session in Fort Lauderdale and a December rehearsal to a sold-out night in Midtown Manhattan with Plaxico Burress in the guest chair.
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