Stephen A. Smith Admits Saving NFL Legend’s Million Dollar Career After Accusing Fox Sports 1 of Mistreatment

It is hard to imagine a time when Stephen A. Smith wasn’t working for ESPN. The analyst, who has become the face of the network, has been associated with its flagship sports program the First Take for the last 12 years. Smith currently makes $12 million per year on his current contract which is set to expire this year, with negotiations over a $12o million six-year deal ongoing. This is a far cry from his situation in 2009 when he was let go by ESPN and had to deal with “the scariest time” of his life.

After having hosted “Quite Frankly” from 2005-07, Smith became part of ESPN’s radio coverage before he was released in 2009 after disagreements over a new contract. Smith had saved some money to live off, but it was far from an ideal situation. He had to wait 10 months before he landed a job hosting at Fox Sports Radio. It was this ordeal that led him to lend a helping hand to NFL legend Shannon Sharpe after he was cut by Fox Sports.

Following the 2023 NBA season, Shannon Sharpe announced that after seven years of debating and working with Skip Bayless on ‘Undisputed.’ While many rumors swirled around what led to his departure, Sharpe himself admitted that disrespect from Bayless was one of the factors behind his exit. Sharpe has since joined Smith on First Take after the long-time ESPN analyst expressed interest in having him on the show. Now, Smith revealed that he had a role to play in getting Sharpe his new gig on TV.

Smith appeared at the Invest Fest on January 7 hosted by Steve Harvey. During the show, Harvey asked Smith whether he had a say in Sharpe becoming a co-host on First Take. Smith replied, “I went out and got Shannon Sharpe to come on First Take.” He then went on to reveal why he helped out Sharpe.

“First of all, I thought he did a good job on FS1…And when I saw that man cast aside the way that he was cast aside by the network that he was working for, and you knew that there weren’t opportunities in linear television for him. I knew that when I got let go in 2009. I didn’t have anybody. I didn’t have a brother or a sister in a position at that time in 2009, when I was left out on the streets, unemployed, wondering what my future was going to be like.”

In a 2023 interview, Smith joined Clay Travis on “OutKick the Show” to talk about his situation following his firing from ESPN. Smith mentioned that “it was a dark time,” and that he had no prospects. “I had nothing. All I had was my savings, and fortunately enough for me, I had saved up a few hundred thousand dollars, so I had some money to live off of, but it was without question the scariest time of my life,” he recalled.

Thanks to hockey agent Steve Mountain, Smith landed a role with Fox Sports Radio but had to make a massive financial compromise. He went from making $1.3 million a year at ESPN to $360,000 at his new job. Eventually, his story about LeBron James joining the Miami Heat got people to take notice and Dave Roberts, now one of the top executives at ESPN, brought him back into the fold at ESPN.

Now in a position of high regard at the network, the 57-year-old felt like using his “powers” for the right cause. Hence, he went out and approached Shannon Sharpe.

“I didn’t have somebody in a position of power to step in and say ‘We want him. Get him on the network’. Well, ESPN had blessed with me that power to do that, and I knew he was going to help the show grow. I knew he was going to contribute to ratings. I knew that there was a vibe and chemistry that we could cultivate together and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Smith told Harvey.

While Stephen A. Smith’s role in getting Sharpe on ESPN is clear, the analyst has also openly blamed the FS1 network for pushing him out of ‘Undisputed.’ Last year appearing on the Joe Budden podcast, Smith talked about Sharpe referring to him as “Skip,” after his former co-host Skip Bayless. Smith dismissed any concerns of this being a slight at him from the 3x Super Bowl winner.

“I didn’t look at it that way. I would’ve if Shannon left [Undisputed] of his own volition. I’m telling you he didn’t. He was pushed out. They can deny it. He wouldn’t, I can promise you that,” he said.

After his initial stint with ESPN in August 2023, the Pro Football Hall of Famer currently has a net worth of $14 million and signed a multi-year contract with the network in June 2024. The new deal expands Sharpe’s role on First Take and he is thankful for Smith’s role in all of this.

Shannon Sharpe credits Stephen A. Smith for helping him

The moment the sports community found out Sharpe and Smith would be colleagues, the excitement grew. The dynamic between the tandem reaped just the results the network, or rather Stephen A. Smith expected. They are magnetic together on First Take and ratings too, have improved, according to Front Office Sports.

Watching that helped ESPN make a huge decision in June 2024. They decided to sign Shannon Sharpe to a multi-year deal that keeps him with ESPN for the years to come. His dedication and readiness to talk sports and his passionate mannerisms may have played a major part. But Sharpe only had one man to thank.

“I can’t thank you enough for what you did for me when I was at my lowest. I didn’t know where I was going to go. You called me and said, ‘Bro, everything’s going to be O.K. I got you,” Sharpe told Stephen A. Smith on one of the shows.

While Sharpe has cemented a place for himself at ESPN,  Stephen A. Smith is due a contract extension and his expectation is to be the highest-paid on-air personality on the netowork. That figure could reach $20 million annually.

If there is no way around such an agreement, the man who gave Shannon Sharpe another lifeline could be the person to leave the network.