The face of ESPN is reportedly prepared to stay at the network for years to come.
Stephen A. Smith has agreed to a new contract worth at least $100 million over five years, according to a report by Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. The agreement will see Smith continue to host ESPN’s flagship morning show First Take, but will see some of his other roles pared back.
Such a deal is not unprecedented for television’s biggest stars. For instance, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow negotiated a deal a few years ago that gave her a substantial raise, but only required her to host her show once a week.
Per Marchand, Smith will no longer be a regular on NBA Countdown under the terms of his new contract. Countdown will be relegated to ESPN’s No. 2 NBA pregame show next season with the network licensing the popular Inside the NBA program from TNT. However, Smith “could still make occasional appearances on top basketball studio programs, as well as the Monday Night Football pregame or during other big time events,” according to Marchand.
With fewer ESPN commitments, Smith will presumably use the time to appear on more non-sports programming and continue to build out The Stephen A. Smith Show where he tackles a wide range of topics.
Smith has not been shy about discussing politics recently. The ESPN star has made numerous appearances on shows ranging from Hannity on Fox News to The View on ABC. He has even emerged as a candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in 2028.
If Smith’s political ambitions are sincere, his new ESPN deal should free him up to focus more on that side of his career. Though, if he’s serious about a presidential run, he’d likely be leaving in the neighborhood of $20 million per year on the table at ESPN to exit the deal early.
