Ryan Clark bashes Travis Kelce just to gain attention (and lose credibility)

Former NFL defensive back Ryan Clark came into broadcasting with a wealth of knowledge gained from a very impressive career in which he was productive well into his mid-thirties. It’s too bad he’s traded all of that credibility just for some extra attention—the lure of basically anyone tasked with maintaining viewers in this era of 24/7 sports coverage.

We’re pretty sure we’re not helping matters any by pointing this out—in fact, we’re likely feeding the beast and enabling his behavior—but sometimes it’s worth pointing to the car accident in the hopes of helping others know that it’s not good to drive that way. In pointing to Clark, we can only hope more of us will tune him out. (Yeah that sounds backwards, but at least we’re trying here.)

If you’re wondering why we’re even pointing to Clark in the first place, it’s because he’s learned that if you pick on the biggest kid on the playground, then you will suddenly find your own standing elevated. It’s what Pepsi did with the Pepsi Challenge decades ago by saying they tasted better than Coca-Cola. The dominant brand was challenged by someone else who tried to put themselves into the same category. It worked, by the way, which is why this happens in any industry or environment. (Think of an unknown boxer talking trash about a champion, and suddenly the media is asking the title-holder about some random guy he doesn’t know.)

Ryan Clark is trading his credibility for some attention by picking on the KC Chiefs.

This is what Ryan Clark has learned to do for more attention—namely, he’s picking on the Kansas City Chiefs. Clark has learned that in his industry, eyeballs are the only things that matter. He’s following the metrics, which means if he can get more viewers, more engagement, during his segments then he’s going to ultimately earn more opportunities and more money. And to do so, he’s chosen to say ridiculous things about the Chiefs star players as part of an overall strategy.

In short, Clark is trading all of his well-earned credibility for a bit more attention. It’s substance to superficial.

There is, of course, lots of room for criticism of the Chiefs in a season like this one, and we’ve done plenty of that all year. We’ve wondered about defensive miscommunication, poor tackling, odd play calls, offensive inconsistency, thoughtless turnovers, and undisciplined penalties. We’ve also criticized Mahomes for careless throws, Mathieu for caring too much about Twitter, and the coaching staff for not removing ineffective players.

But this isn’t that. Clark is calling Mahomes “broken” earlier this year (just before a five touchdown performance), and the latest is another attempt to drag Travis Kelce‘s good name. It’s not his first time.

Kelce is now the one who is “broken.” Why say it? Because it draws attention to him by picking on the biggest kid on the playground (and let’s be clear: despite the Chiefs 7-4 record, they are the one team no one wants to play at this stage).

It was only a year ago that Derek Carr was capable of going “toe to toe” with Patrick Mahomes and Darren Waller was equal with Kelce.  This is from a year ago.

Nuance is lost here. There’s zero complexity. Everyone is either horrible or great and, when you’re on top, the only way to make waves is to point to the guy at the top and say he’s really on the bottom (or to say the player is not alone at the top).

If you want to celebrate wealth and notoriety, then credit Ryan Clark for playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played. He knows the rules and he’s abiding by them all. We can only hope it’s working—that it’s making him more and more money— because trading long-term credibility for short-sighted attention is certainly nothing respectable. It is, however, par for the course when it comes to talking heads these days.