Stephen A. Smith Says Deal to Return to ESPN Coming ‘Very, Very Soon’

NEW ORLEANS — Stephen A. Smith anticipates signing a new ESPN contract “very, very soon,” he told Front Office Sports on Wednesday.

“I work at a great place. We’re the Worldwide Leader. We’re No. 1. I’ve got great bosses. I’ve got great colleagues and friends. I love working there,” he said. “I’m anticipating that hopefully we’ll reach a deal very, very soon, and I’ll march forward with ESPN for the foreseeable future.”

The contract negotiations for the featured commentator and executive producer of morning TV powerhouse First Take have been some of the most followed in recent sports media history. 

Smith’s current deal with ESPN expires this year, and in an interview on Radio Row ahead of Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans, he said the two sides actually agreed on monetary terms back in the fall. The holdup now is juggling Smith’s contractual duties to ESPN and parent company Disney against his freedom to follow his own independent projects. 

Smith is believed to be seeking an estimated five-year, $100 million extension that would make him the highest-paid employee at ESPN. At the same, he’s launched his own independent projects, including his eponymous YouTube show and Straight Shooter production company. Named after his best-selling memoir, the production firm is working on everything from sports documentaries to traditional TV shows. He’s also the rare ESPN talent who has the green light to sound off on politics.

Citing his tight relationships with his bosses at ESPN and Disney, Smith noted that kind of support is tough to find in sports media. 

“I have a very, very close relationship with [ESPN chairman] Jimmy Pitaro, who’s been incredible to me. And [Disney CEO] Bob Iger as well, of course. When you have those kinds of relationships, you don’t buy those,” he said.

“To have the kind of relationship that I have with them—everything that I want to do, you gotta make sure all of that is there. It’s in the language, the devil’s in the details. Because from a numbers perspective, we agreed months ago. Like literally months ago. It’s not about the money at this point, because the money was agreed to back in October.

“The issue is all the things that I just finished talking to you about, and what I want to do. Working out that language because lawyers get involved and all of that other stuff.”