Negotiations between Stephen A. Smith and ESPN appear to be underway, with the latest offer from the worldwide leader reportedly ringing in at $18 million. While that massive number would represent the biggest salary for any talent at ESPN, longtime ESPN host and writer Dan Le Batard believes it’s not enough for the First Take host.
In the latest episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, Le Batard described Smith as “the modern-day Howard Cosell” and predicted ESPN would have to raise its offer to exceed what Smith can make by going it alone.
“It’s not going to just be money. He’s going to want power and a bunch of other things, because he is the modern-day Howard Cosell, whether you like it or not,” Le Batard said. “And beyond sports, he’s got conquering ambitions because he is casting a wide net, going on Fox, making sure the audience is as large as it can be as he heads into the leverage of negotiations. Because he can do this for more than $18 million on his own. He doesn’t need ESPN.”
This week, John Ourand of Puck reported the $18 million offer from ESPN. Ourand also indicated Smith’s reps see production deals with Pat McAfee and Omaha Productions as points of comparison more than talent contracts.
So while an $18 million salary would make Smith the top-paid talent at ESPN, he wants more. Previously, Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg noted that a sticking point between Smith and the network might be whether Smith could bring his growing digital show as part of a package deal.
“I find interesting that in our time, the person who is at the top of our profession is now being offered reportedly at ESPN, the highest salary in the history of the company for a talent,” Le Batard said. “It used to be for Jon Gruden at $6.5 million, but the explosion of everything that’s happened has made everybody realize, oh, all these talent are super undervalued. Even though everyone listening to this would think it’s ridiculous for anybody to be making the kind of money for doing this nonsense that people can make.”
Smith has all the leverage, given ESPN’s pressure to keep a loyal audience as it moves to a digital-first company and eventually attempts to build a base of paid subscribers for its direct-to-consumer product. First Take is a huge draw, and Smith is the most recognizable face of the company.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.