November 19, 2024

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Front Office Sports

ESPN has built its strongest talent lineup in years by focusing almost exclusively on top talent, sacrificing depth to ensure it lands top stars. Charles Barkley is the latest—and perhaps most prominent—example, as ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro got directly involved in facilitating a settlement between the NBA and Warner Bros. Discovery in order to land licensing rights to Inside the NBA.

We explore ESPN’s approach, what it’s building, and what it means for Stephen A. Smith.

—Michael McCarthy

Charles Barkley Addition Reinforces ESPN’s Focus: Star Power

Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

During ESPN’s media day in August, chairman Jimmy Pitaro talked about building a Murderers’ Row of talent to attract viewers. 

It’s natural for Pitaro—a diehard Yankees fan—to cite the nickname for the 1927 Bronx Bombers team that included Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. But the phrase applies equally to Pitaro’s recent string of marquee talent hires.

Over the last two and a half years, Pitaro and president of content Burke Magnus have scooped up the rights to Charles Barkley’s Inside the NBA while signing Shams Charania, Nick Saban, Bill Belichick, Pat McAfee, Shannon Sharpe, Jason Kelce, Joe Buck, and Troy Aikman. 

Oh, did we mention they also inked Peyton and Eli Manning, Scott Van Pelt, Doris Burke, Monica McNutt, Mina Kimes, Kendrick Perkins, Chiney Ogwumike, and Tim Legler to contract extensions?

Pitaro helped break the legal logjam between Warner Bros. Discovery and the NBA by going directly to TNT Sports CEO Luis Silberwasser, according to one source briefed on the talks. It worked. Pitaro was essentially able to swap 13 Big 12 Conference college football games and 15 men’s college basketball games (mostly destined for ESPN+) for the gold standard of sports studio shows and a singular talent in Barkley that ESPN has wanted for 20 years. 

The deal allowed Silberwasser and WBD CEO David Zaslav to save face, too. They could have come away with zilch from their NBA lawsuit. Both sides would have had to reveal confidential details during the discovery process. Instead, the duo can argue they saved Inside the NBA, added domestic rights to college games, and scored an international package of 100+ games from The Association.

“The best way to judge a trade is to ask, ‘Who ends up with the best player?’” noted one source. “Well, ESPN got Sir Charles. What a steal.”

Sure, ESPN also lost a lot of talent from 2022 to 2024, some through departures and some via layoffs. First, Doc Rivers, then JJ Redick, bolted for coaching jobs in the NBA. ESPN dropped Sam Ponder, Robert Griffin III, and Zach Lowe this year in cost-cutting moves. On the talent front, 2023 was annus horribilis for ESPN as it laid off major names like Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Suzy Kolber, Steve Young, and Keyshawn Johnson due to Disney-mandated budget cuts. And Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson remain TNT Sports employees.

Put it all together, however, and Pitaro and Magnus’s wheeling and dealing has built ESPN’s strongest talent lineup in years. 

By raiding rival Fox Sports for Aikman and Buck in 2022, ESPN went from having the worst NFL broadcast booth to the best in my book. As the longest-running broadcast duo on NFL TV, Aikman and Buck have called six Super Bowls together. They’re now poised to call ESPN’s first Super Bowls after the 2026 and 2030 seasons.

This April, ESPN signed Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions to a nine-year extension that will take the popular ManningCast through 2034. During our Tuned In media summit this September, Magnus said he’s already booked the Super Bowl–winning brothers for ESPN’s first Big Game on Feb. 14, 2027, in Los Angeles. “If we didn’t, I think I’d have a problem with those two fellows,” Magnus said. “But yeah, that’s gonna be definitely a part of it.” (During the same interview, Magnus told me he’d love to hire Barkley. Maybe he knew more than he let on?)

Meanwhile, the addition of McAfee in 2022, and Saban this year, has revitalized the iconic College GameDay at a time when Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff was poised to make inroads. In October, Magnus tweeted College GameDay was “on pace” for its best season, averaging 2.2 million viewers. McAfee’s student field goal competition has become one of the most enjoyable bits on TV. Pitaro says ESPN’s internal research indicates McAfee attracts the young viewers that sports TV networks are desperate to land.

The taciturn Belichick has been a revelation as a guest on McAfee’s eponymous weekday show and the ManningCast. Who knew when The Hoodie finally started talking, we’d never be able to shut him up?

There is a clear intentionality to this approach: ESPN is leaning in to a “big” personality strategy, according to Magnus. That means a few top people make the most money—but they also handle multiple big assignments. Mike Greenberg, host of the weekday Get Up morning show, has picked up hosting duties for the NFL Draft and Sunday NFL Countdown. While keeping his popular midnight SportsCenter, Van Pelt has added Monday Night Countdown hosting duties to his plate.

The Next Challenge

Pitaro and Magnus’s biggest talent challenge is still to come. Stephen A. Smith, the network’s biggest star, can become a free agent as of July 2025. At our Tuned In summit, Smith told me ESPN made him an offer that he turned down. He countered. The two sides are still negotiating.

Smith believes he should be the highest-paid talent at ESPN. (The network’s three highest-paid are Aikman at $18 million a year, McAfee at $17 million, and Buck at $15 million.) 

The 57-year-old Smith currently earns $12 million a year. But if he gets what he wants, he could leapfrog all three with a deal worth $20 million a year. If he signs the standard five-year contract, that would make him ESPN’s first $100 million man.

Both Pitaro and Magnus have told me they want to re-up Smith, who they consider a “bona fide superstar.” But the addition of the iconic Inside the NBA cast gives them new leverage in the Smith talks. 

Smith has leverage, too, however. I could see NBC Sports or Amazon Prime Video backing up the Brink’s truck to make him the face of their NBA coverage in 2025.

With his own podcast/YouTube show, and opportunities in late-night TV, news and entertainment, Smith is prepared to walk.

“They have their vision—and I have mine,” Smith told me at our event. “If it’s aligned, we’ll work it out. If it’s not, then decisions have to be made. I’m a big boy and I accept the fact that sometimes you don’t get what you want. You certainly sometimes don’t get it from whom you want to get it from. If it comes to a decision where I have to move on, I’ve prepared myself mentally and emotionally to be able to do that. I don’t want it to come to that. Because I am very happy at ESPN doing what I do. I love doing First Take every weekday at 10 a.m. I love the other opportunities that can potentially present itself at the world wide leader. But I’m a human being. And everybody wants to be wanted.”

Barkley Likely to Stick Around—What About Shaq?

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Now that the TNT Sports vs. NBA lawsuit is settled, a popular parlor game will be speculating about whether Inside the NBA’s core four cast of Barkley, O’Neal, Smith, and Johnson will stay together when their show moves to ESPN in 2025. You can’t blame people for their interest. Barkley retired from TV, unretired, then reaffirmed his long-term commitment to TNT. The Chuckster’s story seemed to change depending on the day of the week. I got dizzy. 

Here’s what we know. Barkley signed a 10-year, $210 million contract extension with TNT in 2022. The superstar analyst should be happy he saved the jobs of the behind-the-scenes production people in Atlanta who have helped make his show a success. At the same time in 2022, TNT announced contract extensions with O’Neal, Smith, and Johnson but didn’t say for how long.

The question mark is O’Neal, but I’ve been told he wants to remain with the show in 2025. My bet is the core four remain together—especially since TNT will retain creative control. If one of them wanted to leave, they would have done so already.

Mike’s Mailbag

My feed has been on fire since my colleague A.J. Perez and I broke the news Wednesday that WBD and the NBA had entered settlement talks that could save the legendary Inside the NBA. Saturday night’s news that ESPN would license the show generated an avalanche.

“Don’t touch the show. ESPN just needs to broadcast it. That’s it,” wrote @Sinster 100000 on X/Twitter. “Give me TNT’s Pregame and Postgame Analysts. Rather have them over anything ABC/ESPN studio show is put on tv,” added @Trumptrainmaine. And @BobbyCwell tweeted: “As long as #ESPN stays away from it and don’t try to have their talent in segments etc!!!!” And @Tdappel tweeted: “ESPN has all the properties and talent but has never been able to nail the MNF booth and NBA studio so they’ve had to go outside the company to buy fixes. Always remarkable to me.”

NFL Says There’s ‘No Issue’ With Players Doing ‘Trump Dance’

Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

The NFL will not crack down on players doing the “Trump Dance,” Front Office Sports has learned.

The league has “no issue” with the “Donald Dance” performed as an on-field celebration by Brock Bowers of the Raiders, Calvin Ridley of the Titans, Za’Darius Smith of the Lions, and other players this weekend, league spokesman Brian McCarthy told me Monday night. The league is also not issuing any directives to TV partners Fox Sports, ESPN, CBS Sports, NBC Sports and Amazon Prime Video on how, or if, they should cover players performing President-elect Donald Trump’s signature shimmy after a touchdown or big play. 

“There’s no issue with a celebratory dance such as what took place yesterday or the previous week with the 49ers on November 10,” said McCarthy [no relation]. As for TV coverage, he adds, “It’s up to the networks to cover them as they see fit.”

The NFL rule book allows for player celebrations—as long as they’re not excessive or feature violent or sexually suggestive acts. But players can get in trouble for wearing printed hats and T-shirts that tout their political and personal opinions. 49ers star Nick Bosa, for example, was fined $11,255 not for doing the Trump dance after a sack (he did) but for wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat on the field. Bosa’s MAGA hat violated the league’s uniform/equipment rules because it bore a “personal” statement. 

NFL players performing the dance that CNN says is taking the “sports world by storm” indicates a shift from eight years ago, when 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick inspired virtually the entire league to take a knee to support social justice. That led the NFL to add end-zone stencils with messages such as “End Racism.”

Former Bears star Brian Urlacher said “silent Trump supporters” feel emboldened after his election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris on Nov. 5. The viral Donald dance was also adopted by UFC champ Jon Jones after his win at UFC 309 on Saturday night and soccer star Christian Pulisic during the U.S. men’s team’s win over Jamaica on Monday night. 

“People were scared for a while. You don’t want people to talk bad about you. You know how we’ve been talked about the last four years if you’re a Donald Trump supporter,” Urlacher said on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime. “But I think now, no one’s scared anymore. It’s nice to see these guys coming out.”

McKennie's pass 🤝 Pulisic's finish

What a goal 🤤

Watch USA vs. Jamaica on TNT, truTV or Max 📺 pic.twitter.com/HVrlx9XLzH

— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 19, 2024

Tom Jones, senior media writer at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, agrees with the league’s call not to crack down on Trump dancers.

“I don’t see how the NFL could stop these Trump-dance celebrations. Like any celebration, as long as it’s not significantly disrupting the game, the NFL should allow it,” Jones told me. “If you were to stop this celebration, you would seemingly have to ban all celebrations. I’m sure the NFL isn’t crazy about celebrations with a political bent, but putting a ban on them would open up a whole other set of problems. My guess is it’s all just a fad that is going to fade pretty quickly anyway. The NFL is probably thinking that, too.”

The NFL’s on-the-record comments should put to rest rumors the league plans to “ban” the Trump dance—or order TV networks not to show it. The country’s most popular sports league can’t be seen taking sides politically against an incoming president. Especially since Trump made the NFL—and protesting players—a public target during his first administration. Back in 2017, the then-president called for NFL owners to cut players taking a knee when the U.S. national anthem played.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when someone disrespects our flag to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now.’ Out. He’s fired. He’s fired,” thundered Trump to cheers from supporters. 

Trump’s NFL-bashing back then may have contributed to the league’s respective 8% and 10% drops in viewers during the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

An Immovable Disappointment

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

This report by Sports Illustrated Bengals beat writer Jay Morrison stood out to me: “For those asking, the Bengals-Cowboys MNF game is not eligible to be flexed out because of all the drawings, voiceovers, and other work that has been done for The Simpsons alt-cast that will air that night.” 

I know it’s hilarious to think Homer Simpson could change the NFL game schedule. But is it true? Yes and no is what I’m hearing. True, it would be a hassle to unwind all the bells and whistles surrounding “The Simpsons Funday Football” kids-cast on Dec. 9. 

Then again, these are the Cowboys. It’s highly improbable the NFL would ever flex out America’s Team, even with their 3–7 record. Hell, even if they were winless, millions of Cowboys haters would tune in just to watch them lose. That’s why ESPN picked this game for their Simpsons extravaganza. They knew the Cowboys were a safe bet not to be flexed. 

Question of the Day

Will ESPN find a way to bring Charles Barkley and Stephen A. Smith together on a show?

 Yes   No 

63% of you thought Jon Gruden would not still be a Barstool Sports personality a year from now.

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Written by Michael McCarthy
Edited by Or Moyal, Catherine Chen, Lisa Scherzer

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