Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith changed television forever with First Take.
And while Smith has dominated Bayless in the ratings since Bayless jumped to FS1 in 2016, they continued to flirt from afar. Based on recent comments from Bayless, it would appear their rivalry nearly blossomed back into a partnership recently.
Discussing the end of his time at FS1 in a recent profile in the Washington Post, Bayless revealed that after his first contract with the network expired, he had an offer on the table to return to ESPN. That deal, which Bayless negotiated in 2021, would have seen him likely take the place of Max Kellerman, who was soon booted from First Take as Smith became the singular face of the show.
Only it never came to be, as Fox exercised its right to match ESPN’s offer to Bayless. And Bayless believes it was not only heartbreaking for him and his former debate partner, but also the beginning of the end for him at FS1.
“I was devastated. Stephen A. was devastated,” Bayless told WaPo’s Ben Strauss. “They were obviously not real happy that I would be so disloyal as to try to strong-arm my way out of FS1.”
To make matters worse, Strauss reports that talks continued between Bayless and ESPN on a potential ESPN+ show pairing Bayless and Smith. Those fell apart, according to Strauss, after a controversial rant in which Bayless ripped Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott for opening up about his mental health struggles.
At the close of Strauss’s profile of Bayless, the now-former FS1 host expresses hope that he can invite Smith on for another duel as he attempts to build out a network of YouTube shows.
However, Smith’s public comments toward Bayless have taken an ambivalent turn in recent months. Smith said the two rarely speak these days, and that the idea of the two partnering was “over.”
As with his falling out with Undisputed cohost Shannon Sharpe, it sounds as if Bayless is on quite a different page from Smith after their many years on air together.
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.