After serving as the 7 a.m. ET SportsCenter anchor for the last several years, Ryan Smith revealed this week that he is exiting ESPN’s flagship program.
Smith has been a part of the early morning SportsCenter since 2019 after initially joining the network in 2017. In 2022, he was given a contract extension where he was named the permanent host at that timeslot.
In addition to his time at SportsCenter, Smith has also worked across ESPN and ABC News as a legal analyst, anchor, and reporter. Smith was a lawyer for the Jacksonville Jaguars before moving into a successful television career.
My last time anchoring @SportsCenter. Moving on…but GRATEFUL! pic.twitter.com/fuu2OG1Kzv
— Ryan Smith (@ryansmithtv) January 8, 2026
“As a kid, I always wanted to be a sports broadcaster. And now I got to be one on a show that touches people around the world,” Smith said. “This is my last show hosting SportsCenter. Now I get to move on to other things I’ve been dreaming about doing. But I can’t tell you how much of a dream and honor it’s been to work on something that gives people so much joy. Heck, even coming here in the middle of the night gave me joy thanks to all the amazing producers, directors, PA’s, editors, folks here working on the studio floor with us, and of course, the amazing co-hosts that I got to work with that made doing this job a blast.”
“This world we live in, I know we don’t always get along, but this thing we do, sports, is the one thing we can do that crosses lines and lets us be together. So I just want to say thank you to ESPN for letting me do this, and to you for letting me come into your homes and be a small piece of what helps bring us together and be a small piece of that joy,” Smith concluded.
As for what those “other things” might be that Ryan Smith alluded to, that’s not known at this time. Smith hasn’t posted since his goodbye message and ESPN or ABC has not made any announcements about what his future holds. However, given his extensive legal and news background, it would not be a surprise to see him land a major full-time role at ABC moving forward.
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