ESPN “First Take” host Stephen A. Smith is in Rio de Janeiro this week ahead of Sunday’s historic Dallas Cowboys-Baltimore Ravens matchup, and a report questioning why he’s there set off a public correction from Smith himself.
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“Try again, ‘Big Lead.’ I wasn’t SENT here,” Smith wrote on X. “I came here on my own because I’ve never been to Brazil. I WANTED to come… and I think it’s safe to say I could afford the flight. Please, for once, just once, get it right!”
The story came from The Big Lead’s Kyle Koster, who published a piece titled “Watching Stephen A. Smith sell NFL football in Brazil has left me completely speechless,” questioning why ESPN would foot the bill to send its biggest personality to cover a game that CBS, not ESPN, is actually broadcasting.
Koster’s framing leaned on a promotional clip First Take had posted, captioned “Brazil called, and @stephenasmith answered.” Smith was seen talking very excitedly about the upcoming matchup, and said that First Take will be hosted live in Brazil, perhaps to make up for ESPN not officially broadcasting the game.
Koster’s article framed the trip as a curious use of network resources.
“Few things are actual surprises anymore in sports media. ESPN ponying up the money to send Smith all the way to Brazil for a game CBS will air qualifies.
“Why? Just why?”
Smith is easily one of the highest-paid employees at ESPN, earning $20 million per year at the network. His current contract runs through 2030, easily setting him up with more than good enough money.
But Smith’s response becomes more interesting because this is not the first time he has had to correct assumptions about ESPN paying for his travel. In September 2023, Smith addressed claims that ESPN was covering his private-jet expenses on his own podcast.
“I was told by some confidantes within the walls of ESPN that people were actually calling because they wanted to know when did ESPN start flying me on private jets, because ESPN is supposedly doing so. Ladies and gentlemen, you see how people are full of s*** sometimes? So you can brag, you can go, and you report as breaking news what my salary is. You’re almost never right. But you can talk about my salary; you can talk about this money that Stephen A is making. But you’re going to say that ESPN pays for my private jets! Damn it, I did. I paid for it, out of my own money. My own bank account. Because I can afford it for the moment. ESPN does not pay for people to fly on private jets; I promise you that.”
Sunday’s matchup marks the first NFL regular-season game ever played in Rio de Janeiro, hosted at the legendary Maracanã Stadium, which has staged FIFA World Cups and the Olympics in the past. It is also the first time in 12 years that the Dallas Cowboys are playing an international game, having last played overseas in London in 2014.
The bigger storyline heading into kickoff has centered on the field itself. NFLPA executive director JC Tretter issued a lengthy statement this week raising concerns about the Maracanã playing surface after heavy late-summer rainfall.
Tretter said the NFLPA and league field experts had been on the ground in Brazil for days, and that both sides would continue monitoring conditions through kickoff. Players from soccer club Flamengo had raised serious concerns about the quality of the field, noting that it was very bumpy and how “unbelievable” it was to play on it.
Both teams enter Sunday’s game at 1-1, with Dallas coming off a 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders and Baltimore fresh off a 24-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints. Kickoff is set for 4:25 p.m. ET, airing on CBS and Paramount+, with Smith set to cover the buildup from Rio regardless of which network’s cameras are actually rolling during the game itself.