Nick Wright might be closer to becoming the face of FS1 with Skip Bayless departing the network last week, but that title still belongs to Colin Cowherd.
With Undisputed falling into a ratings tailspin after Shannon Sharpe exited the show last summer and First Things First thriving in the afternoon, more and more people have been willing to crown Wright as the face of FS1 in recent months. But it’s a crown Wright isn’t ready to wear. Not while Cowherd is at the network, and not while he has teammates.
“FS1 exists the way it does now because of Colin Cowherd and Skip Bayless taking a chance and coming over and giving our network credibility,” Wright said on the latest episode of his podcast What’s Wright with Nick Wright.
For years, Wright has admitted his goal is to be known as the best sports talker in the country. If you randomly ask 100 people who the best sports talker in the country, Wright wants to win the poll. Currently, Wright believes he would get some votes, but he hasn’t reached the pinnacle that Cowherd, Bayless, Stephen A. Smith, Dan Patrick and others have throughout their careers. He’s not the best sports talker in the country, yet. And he’s not the face of FS1, yet.
“It is absolutely unequivocally false to say it now,” Wright said. “The face of FS1 is Colin Cowherd, and he has been for some time. That is undeniable… I am not right now trying to be that. Right now, I’m not a solo act and don’t want to be. Right now, I am part of a team…If those articles had said First Things First is now positioned to be the best show on the network, I would take that. That is what I want. That is what we attempt to do every day. But positioning it as ‘Nick Wright,’ is so wildly disrespectful to Wildes and Brou that it makes me uncomfortable.”
I believe Wright when he says this is his honest opinion and not some attempt at being humble. And there’s no doubt that Wright, Kevin Wildes and Chris Broussard all deserve credit for learning how to bring the best out of each other on TV. But Skip Bayless was never a solo act and Stephen A. Smith is not a solo act. Yet they were both capable of being dubbed the face of a network or the best sports talker in the country at points during their careers. And so is Wright.
Wright is correct in recognizing Cowherd is still the face of FS1. He’s a needle mover, he can be polarizing, he’s entertaining, his ability to deliver a captivating monologue is the best in sports radio history, he’s watched by his fans, and he’s watched by his detractors. But at 60 years old, with a contract that’s about to expire and an interest in The Volume, how much is FS1 willing to invest in the current face of their network?
Wright might not be the face of FS1 today, but he’s their most valuable asset because of his future. He’s a needle mover, he can be polarizing, he’s entertaining, he’s watched by his fans, and he’s watched by his detractors. Wright can host a TV show, he can host a radio show, he can work as part of a team, or he can be a successful solo act. FS1 may exist the way it does because of Cowherd and Bayless, but it will sustain into the future because of Wright.
