ESPN’s decision to part ways with Shannon Sharpe removes one of First Take’s viewership draws on the eve of a new NFL season. But there’s a way ESPN could make lemonade out of lemons from the Sharpe debacle: Hiring Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson—Sharpe’s Nightcap podcast partner—as his replacement on Stephen A. Smith’s First Take.

By dropping the 57-year-old Sharpe just after he settled a $50 million sexual assault lawsuit on July 18, ESPN risks alienating TV viewers who love his appearances with Smith and Molly Qerim. Not to mention the fiercely loyal audience who has made Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay and Sharpe/Ochocinco’s Nightcap two of the hottest digital sports shows. Between them, these two programs boast nearly six million YouTube subscribers. Sharpe’s interview with comedian Katt Williams took over internet discourse when it dropped and has registered an eye-popping 90 million views and counting.

“Think about it: ESPN can try to retain Shannon’s audience—without Shannon,” one source with direct knowledge of the relationship between ESPN and Sharpe told Front Office Sports on Thursday. “If they slide Chad in there, it might appease them when the NFL season really starts.” Added a former ESPN executive: “It would be a smart idea.”

Johnson would be up for it. The former NFL star appeared on First Take on behalf of EA Sports this week to tout player ratings in the upcoming Madden 26 video game. “I can get used to this for the next six months,” said Johnson, as he acclimated himself to the new First Take set in New York City with Smith and host Molly Qerim. She suggested he take up his career aspirations with the “boss.” That’s Smith, ESPN’s highest-paid talent at $20 million a year, who also serves as executive producer of First Take.

In addition to his digital endeavors, Ochocinco has also appeared on Inside the NFL over the last several years and contributed to Fox’s coverage of the 2022 FIFA men’s World Cup.

Will ESPN do it? We’ll see. The network is likely to let the dust settle over Sharpe’s departure before making any moves. Smith and First Take can certainly carry on with or without Sharpe and Johnson. ESPN just re-upped Dan Orlovsky and signed Peter Schrager, giving Smith and Qerim plenty of football talent to choose from as part of their rotating cast. FOS has learned that ESPN is still undecided about whether to pursue Johnson.

On Wednesday night’s edition of Nightcap, Sharpe said he was “at peace” with ESPN’s decision to cut ties with him. Still, he faulted the network for not waiting until his older brother, Sterling Sharpe, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this Saturday in Canton, Ohio.

“I said this coming out will overshadow everything he worked his entire life for. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way,” said Sharpe.

What’s next for the Pro Football Hall of Famer? Sharpe was likely on the hook for a hefty settlement to settle the case brought against him. The salacious details of the lawsuit also may have killed a potential $100 million deal for his Club Shay Shay media empire. But Sharpe retains a big, loyal audience that will follow him in his next chapter. He’s now his own boss and master of his fate. Scandals come and go. It’s still possible he can land a future deal for Club Shay Shay similar to Bill Simmons’s $250 million sale of The Ringer in 2020. 

ESPN declined to comment when asked about the prospect of signing Ochocinco.

Fox is buying a 33% stake in the parent company of the IndyCar Series and the two are extending their media-rights agreement, marking the latest in a growing trend of media partners taking equity stakes in the leagues they televise and cover.

The deal between Fox and Penske Entertainment Corp., which owns IndyCar and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the Indianapolis 500 takes place, was announced Thursday. Financial terms were not disclosed, although The Wall Street Journal reported the stake is valued at between $125 million and $135 million.

In addition to the acquisition of a one-third stake in Penske Entertainment, the deal includes a “multi-year extension” for the duo’s media-rights agreement between. The number of years the media-rights agreement is being extended by was not disclosed. 

Penske Entertainment is a subsidiary of Penske Corporation, which is the parent to several businesses, including Penske Automotive Group, Penske Truck Rental, and Team Penske, which has seen success in an array of races over its 59-year history, including 20 Indy 500 wins, three Daytona 500 championships, and one Formula One victory.

Fox first acquired IndyCar’s media rights earlier this year, taking over from NBC Sports, and got off to a hot start with 1.4 million viewers for its season opener, the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, according to Nielsen. In Thursday’s statement, Fox boasts that this year’s Indianapolis 500—held in May and won by Álex Palou for team Chip Ganassi Racing—averaged 7.01 million viewers, a 41% increase over last year and a 17-year high.

Under the original media-rights deal between Fox and IndyCar, it was believed the former was paying roughly $25 million annually for the latter’s rights.

Fox Sports CEO Eric Shanks said in Thursday’s statement that IndyCar represents “everything we value in live sports — passionate fans, iconic venues, elite competition, and year-round storytelling potential.”

It is becoming more common for media companies to buy equity stakes in the companies they televise and cover. Last month, Disney-owned ESPN and the Premier Lacrosse League announced a five-year extension of their current rights deal starting with the 2026 season, and under the agreement, ESPN is making a “minority equity investment” in the PLL.

Last October, Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT reached a deal that included both an undisclosed equity stake in, and media rights for, upstart 3-on-3 women’s basketball league Unrivaled. Elsewhere, Fox both broadcasts games for and owns a major stake in the UFL.

Meanwhile, in what could be the most significant of all network-to-league equity deals, Disney is closing in on a deal to acquire NFL Media from the NFL in exchange for the league taking an equity stake in ESPN. Less than two weeks ago, Front Office Sports reported NFL owners had been informally told to be ready for a potential vote in August on that deal.

Representatives for Fox and Penske did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

As Sophie Cunningham has leaned in to a role as Caitlin Clark’s proverbial on-court bodyguard, her marketability is soaring.

The Indiana Fever guard has launched a podcast with Colin Cowherd’s The Volume digital media company.

Cunningham will cohost Show Me Something with sports reporter turned reality show star West Wilson of Bravo’s Summer House. (The two high-school friends grew up together in Columbia, Mo.)  Launching today, their weekly podcast will feature guests from the worlds of entertainment, sports, and lifestyle.

“It’s an exciting time for the WNBA, and we’re thrilled to grow The Volume’s portfolio with a show that celebrates women’s sports, pop culture, and friendship,” Dane Aagaard, chief revenue officer for The Volume, said in a statement to FOS.

Cunningham’s deal with Cowherd’s company is only the latest in a banner summer. Playing alongside Clark, a WNBA supernova, has shone a sizable spotlight on Cunningham. Ever since she stood up for Clark by brawling with the Connecticut Sun’s Jacy Sheldon and Lindsay Allen on June 17, her stock has exploded with media companies as well as Madison Avenue. 

The podcast debuted with a bang Wednesday, with Cunningham saying that it “really pisses me off” when people say Clark is “not the face of the league.”

“There’s really good, well-known people in the league,” she said. “I’m not discrediting them. We have a lot of badasses in our league. … But when people try to argue that she’s not the face of our league, or that our league would be where we’re at without her, you’re dumb as shit. You’re literally dumb as fuck.”

The seventh-year guard is averaging seven points a game halfway through her first season with Indiana.

The 28-year-old’s enforcer image and social-media hot takes give her an edge. That’s increasingly appealing to media platforms and marketers looking for rising stars. Consider:

• Playing off her reputation as the Fever’s defender, home-security company Ring signed Cunningham to an endorsement deal. “In light of recent events, you guys know how serious I am about protecting my girls on the court,” says Cunningham in a Ring promotional video. “But what’s protecting my home court, aka my actual home? The obvious choice is Ring.” 

• Cunningham just made waves by showing up for a game against the archrival Chicago Sky on July 27 wearing a T-shirt declaring, “Hot Girls Eat Arby’s.” Cunningham then fired off a cheeky Instagram post for her new sponsor, noting, “look who has the meats now #ArbysPartner.” Besides Ring and Arby’s, Cunningham is also sponsored by Adidas.

• Cunningham’s social media profile has exploded with fans since she positioned herself as a protector and friend of Fever phenom Clark. She’s up to 1.6 million followers on TikTok, 1.1 million on Instagram, and 188,000 on X/Twitter. 

If Cunningham ever wants to try a different league, Women of Wrestling (WOW) founder David McLane wants to hire the Fever enforcer. “She’s the Marty McSorley to Wayne Gretzky—and she is a stunning athlete,” he said.