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FOX Sports and Nick Wright are expected to soon sign a new contract which will see Wright remain with FS1 as co-host of First Things First. Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reports the two will ink a new deal which will keep Wright in line to be a big part of the future of FS1. FOX Sports declined to comment when contacted by Barrett Media.
Wright started with FS1 in 2016. First Things First with Wright and Cris Carter started as a morning show in September 2017. The show now airs each weekday from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. ET with Wright alongside Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes.
Wright spent time at sports radio stations in Kansas City (610 Sports) and Houston (SportsRadio 610) before making the move to television. He also hosts the What’s Wright? with Nick Wright podcast.
McCarthy had previously written that executives with the network had “told us they believed Wright was the future of the network.” Wright responded in a rant on his podcast saying in part: “…Now Skip leaves and there’s all these articles written – ‘Nick Wright is the new face of FS1.’” Wright talked about the goals he has for his career and while he has added some, ultimately, he has always wanted to be looked at as “the biggest or the best sports talk guy in the country. I’m not there yet. Skip was on the top of that at one point, Colin’s been on the top of that, you know Stephen A’s obviously been on the top of that…I’ve never been on the top of it.
“I now feel like I’m in a place where I would get votes…but I am not there yet. So, I think people see ‘face of the network’ and they’re like ‘man Nick this is what you want’ and I’m here to tell you, yeah in theory of course it’s what I want and I’m also here to tell you it is absolutely, unequivocally, inaccurate to say it now. The face of FS1 is Colin Cowherd and he has been for some time. That is undeniable and right now the reason I get uncomfortable with folks…putting me in that is for two reasons, one is because it’s Colin. The other is I am not right now trying to be that because right now I’m not a solo act and don’t want to be right now. I am part of a team, and I get oddly emotional talking about this…so if those articles had said First Things First is now positioned to be the best show on the network or the biggest…I would take that. That is what I want, that is what we attempt to do every day. But positioning it as ‘Nick Wright’ is so wildly disrespectful to [co-hosts Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes] that it makes me uncomfortable.”
According to the FOS report, First Things First had its most-watched year in 2023, and since moving to its current time slot, has posted a 53% increase in viewership through September.
