In August, several well-sourced TV executives told me they saw Nick Wright, not Skip Bayless, as the future of FS1. It appears the future is now for the Fox Sports cable network.
The 40-year-old cohost of First Things First has signed a long-term contract extension that should keep him on the air at FS1 for years, Front Office Sports has learned.
The new deal positions Wright to become the network’s No. 1 star should Colin Cowherd leave when his contract expires in 2025. Wright’s new deal comes less than three months after Fox dropped the 72-year-old Skip Bayless (canceling his show, Undisputed) while rolling out a revamped weekday studio lineup.
Securing a long-term relationship with Wright makes strategic sense for FS1 management. He and on-air partners Chris Broussard and Kevin Wildes are delivering the goods. I think the trio has the best on-air chemistry at FS1. First Things First had its most-watched year in 2023, and since moving to the current 3 p.m. weekday time slot, their viewership has risen 53% through September.
Wright, a Kansas City native, is the No. 1 Chiefs booster in sports media. His popular “Mahomes Mountain” segment has become a show within a show, drawing celebrity guests like Joel McHale and Heidi Gardner of Saturday Night Live.
On the digital front, his What’s Wright? With Nick Wright podcast/YouTube show boasts 165,000 subscribers, while First Things First has 894,000. Wright has roughly one million social media followers across X/Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Wright has been the mainstay on First Things First since he and ex-partner Cris Carter launched the show as the morning lead-in to Undisputed in 2017. His clout is growing: He successfully lobbied management to hire Chicago sports radio host Danny Parkins (a close friend from their days at Syracuse University) for FS1’s new morning program, Breakfast Ball.
“I’ve been doing the show for a long time. The show has not always been great. Thanks to Wildes and Brou, we’re able to do it,” Wright told the New York Post in April. “I’m incredibly proud of the show, and it’s gratifying that people are watching us.”
Then there’s Cowherd. Wright himself declared quite loudly that the longtime TV and radio staple remains FS1’s top gun. Cowherd is a generational talent who doesn’t come with the baggage of Bayless. But as the 60-year-old star’s deal expires next year, I could easily see ESPN making a big play for him as a quick fix for their struggling ESPN Radio lineup. Cowherd could also dedicate all of his focus to his fast-growing digital media company, The Volume, which has a partnership deal with former Fox colleague Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay.
Cowherd could be in line for a massive payday if he sells The Volume. While stating he had no plans to do so, he told The Marchand and Ourand podcast last year that his new company was already valued at $100 million. Don’t forget, Bill Simmons sold The Ringer to Spotify for a whopping $200 million in cash in 2020.
Emmanuel Acho, cohost of FS1’s new show, The Facility, gave three hand-claps to Wright’s new deal on X/Twitter. “Congrats @getnickwright,” he tweeted. An FOS reader added on X/Twitter: “He is probably their biggest show star at the moment. Like or hate him, he is always raw. You might not like his takes but he uses stats to prove his point and I respect it.”
