Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee ramp up Shannon Sharpe to ESPN rumors

Much of the talk surrounding Undisputed’s split has been about Skip Bayless trying to find a new partner. But social media was recently buzzing over the Shannon Sharpe to ESPN rumors.

Wednesday afternoon, Front Office Sports reported Sharpe spoke to ESPN about joining the Worldwide Leader as a contributor. The role would likely feature Sharpe joining the rotating cast of debate partners for Stephen A. Smith on First Take.

There’s undoubtedly added intrigue surrounding the possibility of Sharpe working on First Take considering Smith’s relationship with Bayless. Sharpe spent nearly eight years with FS1 and now he left Undisputed to possibly join Skip’s former debate partner on Skip’s former show. With Sharpe trending on Twitter, Smith chimed in to aggregate the rumors and note he was going to address them on his Friday podcast.

“Look for me on Friday, Folks! I’ll be addressing all the things I need to address. Back on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” podcast on Friday,” Smith wrote, quote-tweeting Legion Hoops which aggregated the report from Dov Kleiman who aggregated it from Front Office Sports. For a person who often complains about the aggregate media, Stephen A. Smith looks like he could have a future in the business.

After being informed he was trending on Twitter, Sharpe responded to Smith with popcorn emojis and a FaceTime request while also teasing more possible meetings with ESPN on Friday.

Whatcha addressing on Fri? I’ve got some free time so feel free 2 FT me b4 my meetings. 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 https://t.co/D3fdEvJHTm

— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) July 19, 2023

Fresh off getting his own five-year $85 million contract from ESPN, Pat McAfee responded to the Smith-Sharpe Twitter exchange with a couple of eye emojis, seemingly interested in the possibility of the Worldwide Leader spending big on another free agent.

👀👀 https://t.co/TF7uFCY4sB

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 19, 2023

This isn’t the first time Smith and McAfee acknowledged their interest in recruiting Sharpe to ESPN. After his buyout with FS1 was completed earlier this year, McAfee was quick to say, “Come to ESPN.” Smith was similarly in favor of the move, saying, if Sharpe wanted to come on First Take, “the bosses at ESPN know that is something I would support.”

More than a month after their pitches, Sharpe is reportedly in talks with ESPN while Smith and McAfee give credence to the rumors by fanning the flame on social media. There’s no question that Sharpe would be a valuable addition to ESPN, but is he interested in going from having his own show to being part of a rotating cast on several shows? And is ESPN willing to pay a rotating contributor like a high-profile star?  Sharpe also has control of his Club Shay Shay podcast and has drawn interest from FanDuel.

[Stephen A. Smith]