Stephen A. Smith says Shannon Sharpe has not signed with ESPN yet

After news broke that Shannon Sharpe has landed on First Take, Stephen A. Smith jumped on his podcast to temper the reports, claiming no contract has been signed.

Stephen A. Smith wants Shannon Sharpe on First Take and Shannon Sharpe wants to join Stephen A. Smith on First Take. Thursday afternoon, Andrew Marchand and Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post reported the Smith-Sharpe partnership as being a done deal. The face of First Take didn’t go so far as to say it was fake news, but he did go on The Stephen A. Smith Show to allege the report was a bit premature.

“Reports have Shannon Sharpe coming to First Take,” Smith said in a podcast clip shared late Thursday night. “It would be great to have him. Here’s the issue. We don’t. Sorry Andrew Marchand of the New York Post! It’s a bit premature. Shannon Sharpe has yet to sign on the dotted line to be a member of First Take. It has not happened yet. I’m still confident it will happen. I still believe it will happen. I think it needs to happen. And I have no doubt, that I’m gonna exhaust any means I have available to me to make it happen.”

Smith has not been shy about his attempts of recruiting Sharpe to First Take ever since the Pro Football Hall of Famer negotiated his buyout from FS1 and divorced Skip Bayless. Before Sharpe even did his last show with Bayless, Smith was already stating they had room for him over at First Take. Of course adding to the intrigue of Sharpe leaving Undisputed for ESPN is the fact that First Take used to be Bayless’s show.

Bayless, meanwhile, has put Undisputed on hiatus since Sharpe’s departure in June, taking the summer to revamp the show with a new cast that reportedly includes Lil Wayne, Rachel Nichols and Richard Sherman as contributors.

Sharpe joining First Take to go head to head with Bayless and Undisputed seemed inevitable. According to Marchand, it’s done, with Sharpe set to join First Take every Monday and Tuesday during the football season. Maybe there’s one piece of paper left for Sharpe to sign, allowing Smith to temper the report so ESPN can make a grander announcement in the coming days. But no one thinks the Sharpe to First Take deal is about to fall through.

[The Stephen A. Smith Show]