Stephen A. Smith won’t put any insider ahead of Adrian Wojnarowski, but ESPN’s newest addition in Shams Charania is a close second.
Wojnarowski stunned the sports world last month when he announced his retirement from the news industry. As ESPN scrambled to fill the void, it officially announced Charania as Wojnarowski’s replacement earlier this week. And on the latest episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, one of ESPN’s foremost personalities welcomed Charania to the Worldwide Leader.
“First things first, there’s only one Woj. And on this particular day I’m gonna give props and love and deference to him because he did a phenomenal job for ESPN ,” Smith said. “He will always be a friend of this show, he will always be a credit to the industry and all of us who have covered the NBA. We’ll never fail to show our appreciation for the marvelous work that Woj did throughout the years in leading all of the insiders.”
“I don’t know Shams Charania,” Smith admitted. “Here’s what I will tell you about him, he’s one of the best in the business. And if there was an ideal replacement for Adrian Wojnarowski it is him. The man has his contacts, he has his sources. He knows what he’s talking about, he’s very well connected. He’s young, but he puts in the work. He gets on his grind and he does what’s necessary to be that guy.
“There was no greater competitor to Woj in the business in the modern era than Shams Charania. And the fact that he is now coming to ESPN is something that I welcome, that I think we all should welcome. And I’m looking forward to welcoming him as the newest member of the ESPN family…nobody comes before Woj in my mind. But this brother right here is a welcome addition to the ESPN family.”
While ESPN reportedly considered internal options such as Adam Schefter or Jeff Passan to replace Wojnarowski, Charania always seemed like the most obvious fit, assuming the money was right. And apparently the money was right for ESPN, with Charania reportedly making less than half of Wojnarowski’s annual salary, which was believed to be around $7 million per year.
Now the question is, how long will Smith and Charania be colleagues for? Smith is in the middle of a contract negotiation with ESPN and doesn’t shy away from the fact that he won’t settle for anything less than becoming the network’s highest paid employee. But maybe ESPN shedding Wojnarowski’s salary for Charania’s will help Smith achieve his goal.
