• Loading stock data...
Sunday, August 3, 2025
Tuned In returns to NYC on September 16. Hear from the biggest names in sports media. Click here to get your spot

Stephen A. Smith Adds Pat McAfee To ‘First Take’ Rotation

  • McAfee will join “First Take” every Tuesday, only upping the ante on Smith’s ratings battle with Skip Bayless’ “Undisputed.”
  • With Sharpe and Smith facing off, “First Take’s” ratings already exploded this week, according to sources.
Pat McAfee at Disney Upfront
Disney General Entertainment/Jennifer Pottheiser)

Stephen A. Smith is bringing in another big gun in his TV competition with former mentor Skip Bayless, announcing that Pat McAfee will join him, Shannon Sharpe, and Molly Qerim on “First Take” every Tuesday this year.

The former Indianapolis Colts punter’s eponymous “Pat McAfee Show” made its official ESPN debut on Thursday, which will now anchor a powerful daytime window along with Mike Greenberg’s “Get Up” and “First Take.”

After Bayless took nearly two months off to retool his show, “Undisputed Live” returned to FS1 last week with a revamped cast, including Michael Irvin, Keyshawn Johnson, Richard Sherman, Josina Anderson and Rachel Nichols.

But Smith retaliated this Monday and Tuesday by bringing on Sharpe: the Pro Football Hall of Famer who previously served as Bayless’ “Undisputed” sparring partner for nearly seven years. “First Take’s” two-day average was up 237% vs. “Undisputed,” said sources.

With Sharpe and Smith facing off, “First Take” ratings exploded this week, according to sources. Sharpe’s debut averaged 754,000 viewers, up 30% from the year before, and became the second-most-watched “First Take” episode of the year behind only Feb. 13 (the day after Super Bowl 57).  

That number also dwarfed the 215,000 viewers for “Undisputed” — still its best number since it returned to the air on Aug. 28.

Smith and Sharpe only debated for one hour during the Labor Day holiday. But Tuesday’s normal two-hour show averaged 512,000 viewers, up 20%. In comparison, “Undisputed” drew 131,000 viewers.

skip_bayless

New ‘Undisputed’ Closed Gap With ‘First Take’ In Premiere Week

Bayless’ revamped show hit 126,000 viewers on Friday, his second-biggest audience.
September 6, 2023

The McAfee news marks the latest development in the cutthroat three-way TV competition between former partners turned frenemies Bayless, Smith, and Sharpe.

Along with producer Jamie Horowitz and anchor Jay Crawford, Bayless pioneered the “Embrace Debate” format on ESPN. 

Both Smith and Sharpe credit Bayless with boosting their careers by hiring them as his debate partners at “First Take” and “Undisputed” in 2012 and 2016, respectively. But now Bayless’ two former TV partners are ganging up on him.

Sharpe, a three-time Super Bowl winner, will return to “First Take” on Monday to debate the first weekend of NFL action — and preview Aaron Rodgers’ regular-season debut with the New York Jets against the Buffalo Bills on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football.” 

McAfee’s guests on Thursday included his frequent guest Rodgers, former Indianapolis Colts teammate Peyton Manning and NFL Insider Adam Schefter. Rodgers announced that he will continue his revealing Tuesday appearances with McAfee & Co.

The F-bomb dropping McAfee posted a disclaimer at the top of the show warning there may be “cuss words” because “that’s how humans in the real world talk.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Inked Under Anesthesia: Athletes Getting $50,000 Tattoos

High-end studios, elite artist teams, and hours under anesthesia.
opinion

ESPN-NFL Deal Still Contends With a Wild Card: Trump’s Approval

Negotiations between the NFL and Disney have been ongoing for four years
Coco Gauff at New York Liberty

How the New York Liberty Became the Hottest Ticket in Town

Once banished to the burbs, the Libs are now Brooklyn’s marquee attraction.
Troy Taylor

Ex-Stanford Coach Troy Taylor Sues ESPN for Defamation

Taylor was fired after a pair of 3–9 seasons.

Featured Today

Las Vegas sign

College Sports Embracing Vegas After Years of Cold Shoulder

The Big Ten became the latest newcomer to Sin City.
2000, Jupiter, FL, USA; FILE PHOTO; Montreal Expos pitcher Hideki Irabu in action on the mound against the New York Mets at Roger Dean Stadium during Spring Training
July 28, 2025

Dead Sports Franchises Are Alive and Well on Twitter

The Expos, Sonics, and Whalers have active social media accounts.
Limited Hype
July 27, 2025

Sneaker Reselling Was Once Easy Money. Success Is Now Complicated

Vendors need to evolve what they’re selling and how they do it.
HAPPY GILMORE 2. BTS - (L to R) Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore and Rory McIlroy as himself on the set of Happy Gilmore2.
July 26, 2025

‘Cool As Hell’: How ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Hooked Golf’s Top Stars

The process was “cool as hell,” Adam Sandler tells FOS.
Jul 15, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts to the crowd as they take on the Connecticut Sun in the first quarter at TD Garden.

WNBA Viewership Up Across All Networks Compared to 2024

Non-Fever games are up 37% compared to the full 2024 season.
Jul 27, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Kia Nurse (11) drives to the basket against Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) during the second half at United Center.
July 29, 2025

Fever-Sky Draws 1.5M Viewers Despite Clark, Reese Absences

Clark and Reese both missed the game due to injury.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace (23) celebrates winning Sunday, July 27, 2025, the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
July 30, 2025

Amazon, TNT Post Near-Identical NASCAR Ratings in Debut Season

The cable channel is a new media-rights partner this season.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
July 29, 2025

WBD Restructuring Shows What’s Old Is New Again

WBD will become Warner Bros. and Discovery Global as two separate entities.
July 24, 2025

CBS Sports to Get New Owner As Skydance Merger Clears FCC Hurdle

The long-awaited, but highly debated, merger gains regulatory approval.
Dec 7, 2024; New York, New York, USA; A general view of Times Square during the MLS Cup Times Square Watch Party prior to the game between the LA Galaxy and the New York Red Bulls.
July 24, 2025

MLS Reveals Apple TV Streaming Numbers, Raising Questions

The league gives a rare glimpse inside the high-profile streaming pact.
A Peacock sideline reporter holds a microphone with the NBC Peacock logo during Michigan State's football game against Washington on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
July 24, 2025

‘Unusual’: NBCU’s Surprise Interest in a New Cable Sports Network

Its previous channel NBCSN was shuttered less than four years ago.