Stephen A. Smith’s future at ESPN may very well be up in 18 months if the cash isn’t proper.
The First Take host joined OutKick’s resident sh*tbag Clay Travis for an interview, the place Smith talked about that the “superior ratings and revenue” he brings in, amongst different issues, ought to make him ESPN’s highest-paid character. If he doesn’t, he might go away ESPN.
“I look at whether it’s Pat McAfee, it’s Mike Greenberg, it’s Scott Van Pelt, it’s Troy Aikman, it’s Joe Buck, it’s Kirk Herbstreit. The list goes on and on. I’m so honored to have the colleagues that I have that I work with at ESPN every day. And at the end of the day, it would be nice for one day for this man to stand before everyone and be like, ‘This is not I’m No. 1,’ and ‘This says I’m No. 1.’”
Additionally thrown into the combination: CBS analyst Tony Romo. Romo signed a 10-year cope with CBS value a median of $17 million per yr, the largest sports analyst contract in TV historical past on the time.
Smith went on to borrow a line from Jay-Z, calling himself a “business.”
“I’m not just a talent. I’m a business,” mentioned Smith. “I’ve got my own production company. I’ve got my own YouTube channel. I’ve got my own show. It’s not even just a podcast. It’s a show with a fully loaded television studio. That’s what I built for myself, that could go linear or digital. The list goes on and on.
“I’m doing all of these things. I’m not doing all of that to be in second place. I’m not doing all of that to look up at somebody else to see that they’re making more than me when I’m producing superior ratings and revenue. No, I’m not doing that. And I’m not apologizing for anybody for it.”
Smith ended the dialog on an understanding, if ominous notice. Smith talked about his nice relationship with ESPN, however talked about that Disney can run its enterprise the way it sees match.
“I hope that we’re able to work this out,” he mentioned. “I’m confident that we will, because I’m incredibly happy there. But we’ll see.”
Smith currently makes $12 million per yr, $8 million in private wage and a $4 million-per-year manufacturing contract. The deal set the market amongst ESPN personalities when it was signed in 2019 however was not too long ago surpassed by the five-year, $85 million contract Pat McAfee signed with a five-year $85 million contract in Could.
