Stephen A. Smith Agrees to $100M+ ESPN Deal, Not Constrained to Sports

Stephen A. Smith is not going anywhere—at least not for a while.

Front Office Sports has confirmed that the prolific sports media host and opinionist reached a five-year contract extension with ESPN worth over $100 million. The Athletic first reported that the deal was finalized. 

Smith told FOS at Radio Row during Super Bowl week that a deal was coming “very, very soon.” Smith made $12 million a year under his previous pact.

“I’m anticipating that hopefully we’ll reach a deal very, very soon, and I’ll march forward with ESPN for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Smith told FOS that the freedom to do projects outside of ESPN was important for him to secure before signing the deal. 

Smith’s primary focus will be on First Take, and he will continue to be involved with NBA programming. Sources say he will also play a bigger role in the network’s NFL coverage.

As previously reported by FOS, Smith will also get a crack at Monday Night Football like his childhood idol Howard Cosell, said sources. Look for him to make appearances on the Monday Night Countdown pregame show starting this season.

Alone among ESPN on-air talents, Smith is allowed to sound off on national political and social issues. That’s made him a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028—even if Smith says he has no intentions of actually campaigning for the job.

As part of this deal, Smith will also gain the freedom to pursue his interests outside of sports. That’s not limited to politics.

Additionally, he intends to continue growing his production company, both in partnership with Disney and beyond.

FOS reported last December that Smith was seeking a five-year deal worth $100 million. The new deal will make Smith the highest-paid talent at ESPN, ahead of the Monday Night Football duo of Troy Aikman ($18 million) and Joe Buck ($15 million) as well as Pat McAfee ($18 million).

Peyton Manning is also one of ESPN’s highest-paid talents. But it’s difficult to separate his individual earnings from Omaha Productions, which has a long-term agreement with ESPN through 2034. Omaha raised capital at a valuation of $400 million in 2023. Fox’s Tom Brady ranks as the highest-paid sports media personality at $37.5 million a year, followed by TNT’s Charles Barkley at $21 million annually and CBS’s Tony Romo at $18 million.

The news adds to an incredible career arc for Smith at ESPN. He was unceremoniously dropped by the network in 2009 after the cancellation of his talk show, Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. But he worked his way back into the spotlight as cohost of First Take with Skip Bayless in 2012. Once Bayless left for Fox, Smith turned First Take into the hottest show on morning TV.

The record deal was negotiated by Mark Shapiro of Endeavor and Jon Rosen of Envisionary.