Former ESPN employees Bill Simmons and Kirk Goldsberry were quite surprised at how things have changed at their former employer. Ringer founder Simmons raised concerns over the changing power dynamics at ESPN during a recent episode of his podcast alongside analyst Goldsberry. The duo discussed how the sports media giant has systematically shifted its operational focus toward former NFL punter Pat McAfee, while scaling back the ubiquitous role long held by veteran commentator Stephen A. Smith.

“I think the Stephen A. Smith piece of it is fascinating though, that this was basically how they were treating Stephen A. Smith 2 years ago and putting him on everywhere to the point that people were getting p—ed off,” Simmons said.

He attributes a change in SAS’ power dynamic to the shift in ESPN’s executive leadership and programming priorities. Simmons and Goldsberry highlighted how McAfee has been granted unprecedented latitude across network properties (perhaps referencing how McAfee got a pass at smoking on air recently) including The Pat McAfee Show, College GameDay, and Monday Night Countdown.

“There’s new people in charge of this stuff who are, I would say, it’s fair to say, pro-McAfee,” Simmons observed during a conversation on ESPN’s handling of Charles Barkley’s upcoming retirement.

“And Stephen A., who got this new deal and is on two other shows that aren’t on ESPN… And it seems like they’ve come to a little bit of a, ‘Okay, you’re just gonna do First Take, maybe pop on a couple other things every once in a while, and that’s gonna be his ESPN relationship.’ But that was not the case two years ago.”

Goldsberry pointed out how dramatically public perception surrounding Smith’s standing at the network has transformed:

“Things really flipped, didn’t they? Remember writing ‘Stephen A. is the most powerful talent in ESPN history’ became such a cliché that we all stopped writing it? And all of a sudden you’re like, ‘Ooh, I don’t think he is anymore.'”

Simmons also noted Smith’s absence from major basketball programming resets, including ESPN’s licensing arrangement to air TNT’s Inside the NBA, which features Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Ernie Johnson, and Stephen A. Smith.

“They kept him away from Inside the NBA,” Simmons remarked. Indeed, it was more common to see Smith banter with his frenemies when the Inside Guys were still on TNT during the All-Star Weekend.

Goldsberry pretty much confirmed that there’s a new Stephen A. at ESPN, commenting, “And now Pat McAfee can do anything he wants.”

While acknowledging McAfee’s work ethic and popularity across the network, Simmons cautioned that the grueling demands of hosting multiple daily media properties are “unsustainable.” He admitted that he now worries about McAfee. But he’s worried about Smith calling him out on his YouTube show even more.

The shift in Smith’s television footprint follows a major five-year, $100 million contract extension with ESPN, signed in 2025 after months of speculation and rumors.

While the deal solidified Smith as one of the network’s highest-paid personalities at $20 million annually, the structural terms marked a noticeable shift in his day-to-day responsibilities.

Under the agreement, Smith stepped back from his regular appearances on ESPN’s flagship NBA pregame program, NBA Countdown, narrowing his core network duties to primarily hosting First Take, with occasional SportsCenter and Monday Night Countdown guest spots.

Smith is also one of the late entrants in a club of (ex) ESPN employees, like Simmons, McAfee, Dan Patrick, and Dan LeBatard, who have launched their independent digital platforms. But his new contract structure gave him more liberty to focus on that.

The intentional reduction in network hours was designed to allow Smith to expand his personal media portfolio, which includes a daily SiriusXM show on Mad Dog Sports Radio, a weekly political program, and a growing independent YouTube channel and production enterprise.

In contrast, ESPN’s current executive leadership has increasingly leaned into McAfee as the centerpiece of its cross-platform strategy.

In addition to licensing The Pat McAfee Show for daily midday broadcasts, the network expanded McAfee’s portfolio by featuring him as a college football analyst on College GameDay and adding him to the Monday Night Countdown studio desk alongside Scott Van Pelt and Jason Kelce.

While Smith remains an anchor of ESPN’s morning ratings with First Take, Simmons’ commentary underscores a broader evolution in sports broadcasting: the transition from centralized network figureheads to multi-platform talent managing independent digital empires alongside targeted television commitments.