Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith had quite the run together on ESPN’s “First Take”. The two loudmouth hot-take experts would go back and forth for hours on end. The two got famous during the process, and their price tags went up. While Stephen A remains the top personality at ESPN, Bayless took his talents to FS1.
Skip Bayless currently does a daily show “Undisputed” with Shannon Sharpe. With Bayless’ contract expiring, ESPN had thoughts to re-unite Skip with Stephen A. Unfortunately, FS1 locked up Skip Bayless on a massive new deal.
NEWS: ESPN made a huge offer to reunite Skip Bayless with Stephen A, but Fox Sports retained Bayless with a four-year, $32M contract, The Post has learned.https://t.co/hBkUoxL0Pp
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) March 4, 2021
Via NY Post:
ESPN made a full-court press to reunite Skip Bayless with Stephen A. Smith, The Post has learned.
The duo would have done a daily ESPN+ show together, while being splashed over ESPN, including weekly spots on “Monday Night Football’s” halftime show.
Smith, who makes close to $8 million per year, was a driving force in ESPN’s recruitment of Bayless. The long negotiations went over several months and did not conclude until late fall.
In August, ESPN offered the 69-year-old Bayless a four-year deal in the $30 million range. There is disagreement among sources of ESPN’s best offer, as sources had it as high as $31 million and as low as $26.5 million. The desire, though, was unquestioned.
According to the article, Skip Bayless signed a four-year, $32 million contract with Fox. Maybe it’s for the best, I don’t know if we could have handled Skip Bayless being back together with Stephen A. Smith.
Welcome to the game outside the game! Follow us on our Sideaction Twitter handle, Instagram, and Facebook for the latest on sports and pop culture news across the web!
🔥 Hot from Side Action 🔥
- Lala Anthony Blames Knicks for the ‘Demise of their Relationship’
- Ja Morant Being Linked to Singer Lotto’s Sister Brooklyn
- Rumor: Instagram Model ‘Ayyyejae’ Connected to Phoenix Suns Is Now Pregnant by NBA Player
- Rumor: Jalen Rose Spotted With New Girlfriend Angela Rye
- Spurs Josh Richardson is Dating Former America’s Next Top Model Runner-Up Tatiana Elizabeth