ESPN’s decision to part ways with Shannon Sharpe removes one of First Take’s viewership draws on the eve of a new NFL season. But there’s a way ESPN could make lemonade out of lemons from the Sharpe debacle: Hiring Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson—Sharpe’s Nightcap podcast partner—as his replacement on Stephen A. Smith’s First Take.
By dropping the 57-year-old Sharpe just after he settled a $50 million sexual assault lawsuit on July 18, ESPN risks alienating TV viewers who love his appearances with Smith and Molly Qerim. Not to mention the fiercely loyal audience who has made Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay and Sharpe/Ochocinco’s Nightcap two of the hottest digital sports shows. Between them, these two programs boast nearly six million YouTube subscribers. Sharpe’s interview with comedian Katt Williams took over internet discourse when it dropped and has registered an eye-popping 90 million views and counting.
“Think about it: ESPN can try to retain Shannon’s audience—without Shannon,” one source with direct knowledge of the relationship between ESPN and Sharpe told Front Office Sports on Thursday. “If they slide Chad in there, it might appease them when the NFL season really starts.” Added a former ESPN executive: “It would be a smart idea.”
Johnson would be up for it. The former NFL star appeared on First Take on behalf of EA Sports this week to tout player ratings in the upcoming Madden 26 video game. “I can get used to this for the next six months,” said Johnson, as he acclimated himself to the new First Take set in New York City with Smith and host Molly Qerim. She suggested he take up his career aspirations with the “boss.” That’s Smith, ESPN’s highest-paid talent at $20 million a year, who also serves as executive producer of First Take.
In addition to his digital endeavors, Ochocinco has also appeared on Inside the NFL over the last several years and contributed to Fox’s coverage of the 2022 FIFA men’s World Cup.
Will ESPN do it? We’ll see. The network is likely to let the dust settle over Sharpe’s departure before making any moves. Smith and First Take can certainly carry on with or without Sharpe and Johnson. ESPN just re-upped Dan Orlovsky and signed Peter Schrager, giving Smith and Qerim plenty of football talent to choose from as part of their rotating cast. FOS has learned that ESPN is still undecided about whether to pursue Johnson.
On Wednesday night’s edition of Nightcap, Sharpe said he was “at peace” with ESPN’s decision to cut ties with him. Still, he faulted the network for not waiting until his older brother, Sterling Sharpe, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this Saturday in Canton, Ohio.
“I said this coming out will overshadow everything he worked his entire life for. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way,” said Sharpe.
What’s next for the Pro Football Hall of Famer? Sharpe was likely on the hook for a hefty settlement to settle the case brought against him. The salacious details of the lawsuit also may have killed a potential $100 million deal for his Club Shay Shay media empire. But Sharpe retains a big, loyal audience that will follow him in his next chapter. He’s now his own boss and master of his fate. Scandals come and go. It’s still possible he can land a future deal for Club Shay Shay similar to Bill Simmons’s $250 million sale of The Ringer in 2020.
ESPN declined to comment when asked about the prospect of signing Ochocinco.
