ESPN declined to comment for The Post. Clayton, who is based in the Seattle area, will continue to do his radio show on 710 ESPN KIRO, which is not affiliated with the network and licenses the name. He also plans to continue to fill in on Sirius shows and tweeted that “I am well-taken care of by ESPN. … I can honestly say that my relationship with ESPN was the second best in my life. My marriage to my wife Pat is obviously No. 1.”

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In addition to his solid reporting for the network, Clayton became popular for his classic “This is SportsCenter” ad in which he delivers his spot, then strips to a T-shirt and discloses a lengthy mane. As he jumps onto his bed and grabs a container of leftover carryout food, he cranks up the tunes and yells, “Hey, Mom! I’m done with my segment!” He signed off Wednesday with a classy, funny nod to that ad on Twitter: “By the way, I am keeping the ponytail.”

ESPN will maintain ties with another beloved football personality, however: The network announced Wednesday that “College GameDay” analyst Lee Corso has agreed to a multiyear deal to remain at ESPN, which he joined in 1987.

“Coach Corso has been the mainstay on ‘College Gameday’ since the beginning and we couldn’t imagine the show without him,” Lee Fitting, ESPN senior coordinating producer, said in a statement. “Arguably, nobody has done as much for the popularity of college football over the past 30 years than Coach Corso. His dedication, preparation and unwavering love for ‘College GameDay’ and its fans is so powerful and we are lucky to call him ours.”

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Corso’s headgear predictions — in which he predicts the winner of the day’s biggest game by donning the head of a mascot — have long been a must-see moment on Saturday mornings during college football season. He’ll make the 300th pick of his career during Week 6 of the 2017 season, ESPN said.

In addition to re-signing Corso, the network announced Desmond Howard had signed a multiyear contract extension and will expand his workload to include working as an analyst on some midweek games. He will continue in his regular role on “College Gameday” on Saturdays and “College Football Live” during the week.

ESPN began its latest round of layoffs April 26, with around 100 people — many of whom occupied on-camera roles — being cut. Among the biggest names were Ed Werder, Andrew Brandt, Ashley Fox, Marc Stein, Chad Ford, Sara Walsh, Britt McHenry, Brett McMurphy, Jayson Stark, Trent Dilfer, Doug Glanville, Jaymee Sire, Chris Hassel and Jay Crawford.