Throughout the last several months, Stephen A. Smith has discussed the impending expiration of his contract with ESPN and value to the company, expressing that he believes he should be among the highest-paid talents at the network. The current deal Smith works under expires in July, which sees him serve as the featured commentator and executive producer of First Take and an analyst on NBA Countdown. Smith and ESPN have been in the process of negotiating a new contract, and the two sides are reportedly closing in on reaching an agreement. Brian Steinberg of Variety reported the news of a potential contract, and he elucidated that both parties are “hopeful they can reach a deal over the next several weeks.”
If a deal is ultimately finalized, The Walt Disney Company’s general entertainment properties may attain a “first-look” agreement for concepts that Smith backs. Smith has developed his own company, recently renamed Straight Shooter Productions, that has taken part in original projects, including a documentary series about sports debate television that premiered earlier this year on ESPN+. The entity also houses Smith’s eponymous podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show, which has a distribution agreement with iHeartMedia and is also available on YouTube.
Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported late Tuesday that no deal is currently completed, but that discussions are taking place regarding a contract in the range of six years and $120 million. Smith is reportedly making $12 million per year with ESPN under his current deal, $8 million of which is a salary and the other $4 million for his production company. When Marchand asked Smith if a deal was close via text, he replied “False” and later added that he never talks about his contract negotiations.
Smith has stated that he has prepared himself mentally and emotionally to be able to move on from ESPN. Furthermore, he expressed an interest in contributing to the Monday Night Football broadcast property and a potential foray into late-night television. While at the BSM Summit in New York City this past March, he spoke about the launch of his podcast and why he decided to produce content in that domain.
“What you see me doing on my podcast is who I am,” Smith said. “I just wasn’t able to show those things on a sports network. You knew me on a sports level, now come over here and see the rest of who I am. But, I will never do anything that works as a detriment to anyone else that I work for. I owe it to them to be consistently reliable on who I am.”
In his role on First Take, Smith currently welcomes a panel of ESPN commentators with whom he debates several topics across the world of sports. The show has also had several remote broadcasts on the road from HBCUs, including Smith’s alma mater Winston-Salem State University, and added weekly contributors such as Shannon Sharpe, Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo and Cam Newton. Earlier in the summer, it was reported that Smith was offered a five-year, $90 million deal to remain with ESPN.
“I expect to get paid, and I’m not apologizing for that to anybody,” Smith said during an interview at the Tuned In event for Front Office Sports. “I’m going to work my tail off. I’m striving to be the best that I can be or put in the hours [to] produce results [to] the best of my ability, and those results are what I’m going to look at to define my worth.”
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