Stephen A. Smith addressed his ongoing contract negotiations with me Tuesday. Before our interview, ESPN’s Magnus and chairman Jimmy Pitaro unequivocally told me they want to re-up the face and voice of ESPN. Magnus added he’s open to Smith’s desire to more directly cover the NFL à la his childhood idol Howard Cosell. “Stephen A. is a bona fide superstar. He’s so versatile. He’s so hardworking. He brings a built-in audience that’s very, very loyal. And he’s created a real juggernaut in First Take,” he said.
But after interviewing Smith, my take is this negotiation might not be quick or easy. Smith told our audience ESPN made an offer, and he counteroffered, as he seeks to become the highest-paid talent at ESPN. (That title is currently held by Aikman at $18 million annually.) But consider his accomplishments. He’s been No. 1 in his time slot for an eye-popping 12 years in a row. First Take just ran off 23 consecutive months of year-over-year growth. As executive producer of the show, Smith personally recruited Shannon Sharpe and has nurtured emerging talents like Monica McNutt, Marcus Spears, Dan Orlovsky, and Kimberley A. Martin. He also gave Chris “Mad Dog” Russo a late-career jolt.
Yes, Smith loves ESPN and Disney. He has great relationships with Pitaro and Disney boss Bob Iger, and is now working closely with Magnus. But he spoke enthusiastically about the business potential of his eponymous YouTube show/podcast as well as his owned and operated production company, which has several projects ongoing in Hollywood.
Stephen A.’s Alternatives
After ably filling in for Jimmy Kimmel, Smith could take over the comedian’s late night show on ABC. Or pursue further acting opportunities on top of his role as Brick on General Hospital. Don’t forget, NBC Sports and Amazon Prime Video will begin their NBA coverage with the 2025–2026 season. I could see either, or both, backing up the Brink’s truck to try to hire Smith for their new hoops coverage. He also told the Los Angeles Times he’s been approached by several mainstream news outlets about on-air contributor roles. In other words, Stephen A. has options—lots of them. ESPN may have to overwhelm him with an offer he can’t refuse.
“They have their vision—and I have mine,” Smith said. “If it’s aligned, we’ll work it out. If it’s not, then decisions have to be made. I’m a big boy and I accept the fact that sometimes you don’t get what you want. You certainly sometimes don’t get it from whom you want to get it from. If it comes to a decision where I have to move on, I’ve prepared myself mentally and emotionally to be able to do that. I don’t want it to come to that. Because I am very happy at ESPN doing what I do. I love doing First Take every weekday at 10 a.m. I love the other opportunities that can potentially present itself at the Worldwide Leader. But I’m a human being. And everybody wants to be wanted.”
Smith has helped drive tenfold growth in First Take’s revenue over the past 12 years. He feels entitled to his share. “This is the United States of America. I’m not going to apologize for being a capitalist. I expect to get paid,” said Smith. “I’m not apologizing for that to anybody. I’m going to work my tail off. I will strive to be the best that I can be. I will put in the hours. I will produce results to the best of my ability. And those results are what I’m going to look at to define my worth.”
