Keith Olbermann calls Stephen A. Smith’s bluff on presidential talk: ‘Give up the job and the salary’

If you ask Stephen A. Smith, he has “no choice” but to run for president.

He’s very, very happy with his day job, but when your pastor brings it up, and Skip Bayless declares you were “born” for the Oval Office, well, things tend to snowball. And it’s snowballed far enough that even Keith Olbermann thinks there might come a time when Smith actually has to make that decision.

Smith, ESPN’s $100 million man, was granted some added freedom in his latest deal with the Worldwide Leader. There probably isn’t a “run for president” clause baked into the contract — and Smith’s agent insists 2028 isn’t on the radar — but the new agreement gives him latitude to speak on politics as he pleases. It also positions him for a larger role in ESPN’s NFL coverage.

As Smith has repeatedly said, he’s very happy.

But Olbermann, the former SportsCenter anchor turned political firebrand, wants to see ESPN make a choice of its own. He’s already suggested the network cut ties with Pat McAfee. Now, he’s weighing in on Smith’s presidential aspirations and seemingly calling his bluff.

Olbermann took to social media to needle Smith, noting that if he’s truly serious about a White House run, he’d have to quit his ESPN gig and walk away from the massive salary that comes with it.

“Just tell @stephenasmith that he’d have to give up the job and the salary to even try this, and you’ll never hear him mention it again,” Olbermann wrote on X.

You want to see him suddenly discover the “choice”?

Just tell @stephenasmith that he’d have to give up the job and the salary to even try this and you’ll never hear him mention it again pic.twitter.com/1iRh7xv6td

— Keith Olbermann (@KeithOlbermann) April 14, 2025

Of course, Smith isn’t quitting his day job. But in the age of political spectacle, maybe that’s the point.

As for Olbermann, he may not be running for anything, but he’s always ready to cast the first vote against whatever ESPN is doing next.