Stephen A. Smith Could Command $20M in Free Agency

Will Cain pioneered the guest debater role that has become popular on Stephen A. Smith’s First Take. The host of The Will Cain Show doesn’t hesitate when asked if Smith should be the highest-paid talent at ESPN.

“He is the most valuable name and personality in sports media,” says Cain, who just launched his new podcast on Fox News after co-hosting Fox & Friends Weekends for the past three years. “I think ESPN needs Stephen A. Smith. The question is: Will Stephen A. Smith need ESPN?”

A few years ago, Smith was believed to be the company’s highest-paid talent, at $12 million annually. But he’s been leapfrogged by the Monday Night Football duo of Troy Aikman ($18 million) and Joe Buck ($15 million). Not to mention Pat McAfee ($15 million), who licenses his eponymous afternoon show to ESPN.

Smith has been a good soldier about it. So far. As his former First Take mentor Skip Bayless has learned to his chagrin, Smith is fiercely competitive and likes to be No. 1 in everything he does. With his contract up in less than 18 months, Smith made it clear to Clay Travis of OutKick that he wants to be ESPN’s highest-paid talent, too. 

“Hell, yes, that’s absolutely true,” Smith said. “I’ve mastered my own business in the world of sports television, Clay Travis, I’ve been No. 1 for 12 years. April 1 will mark 12 consecutive years I’ve been No. 1. Not only have I been No. 1 every year, I’ve been No. 1 every week in every month of every year for the last 12 years. You don’t get to say that about too many people.”

With his multiple roles on First Take and NBA Countdown, nobody works harder than the 56-year-old Smith—and his negotiating leverage continues to increase. Smith’s recruitment of Shannon Sharpe, Bayless’s ex-Undisputed sparring partner, has helped drive First Take’s TV numbers to new heights. With 1.5 million viewers on Martin Luther King Day, the weekday morning show drew the biggest audience in its 16-year history. (That was five times the audience for Bayless’s Undisputed on FS1.) Buoyed by Smith humorously trolling Dallas Cowboys fans, First Take posted its most-watched January ever. 

But Smith has also talked openly about eventually leaving ESPN for late-night TV, entertainment, or politics. With his own production company and YouTube show, he has the platform. Smith’s eponymous podcast on YouTube—in which he delves into plenty of non-sports topics, including politics, social issues and even his personal life—now boasts 524,000 subscribers.

Put it all together and Smith’s negotiation with ESPN will be the most closely followed talent deal of the year. If the four letters don’t make an offer of at least $20 million annually, they could risk losing the face and voice of the network. 

Smith remained friends with Cain after he left for Fox in 2020. Smith appeared on the first episode of Cain’s new podcast, to tease him about the Dallas Cowboys’ playoff loss. As Cain tells me: “[Smith] could do anything he wants. It seems to me he has desires beyond just being in sports media. Which I can appreciate. I did the same thing.”

Ready for Kelce-Cast? 

Travis and Jason Kelce have become breakout media stars, with Travis dating Taylor Swift and the brothers collaborating on their New Heights podcast. Could their next move be a ManningCast-like alternative telecast?

That’s the prediction of former NBC Sports Sunday Night Football sideline reporter Michele Tafoya. She told Marc Ryan of CBS Sports Radio that she believes Travis Kelce will follow his older brother, Jason, into retirement, then follow the Mannings into alt-casting.

“I could totally see those two pulling a Peyton and Eli Manning sort of gig, maybe on Peacock. To be the companion piece to Sunday Night Football,” said Tafoya. “You’ve got the Peyton and Eli-cast on ESPN2 for Monday Night Football, why doesn’t Peacock do that with the Kelce brothers on Sunday Night Football?”

Jason Kelce’s media skills have already drawn the attention of network executives, sources say. Even with Swift in attendance, he was one of the stars of CBS Sports’ Kansas City Chiefs-Buffalo Bills coverage, chugging beers with the Bills Mafia in the parking lot and lifting up a little girl so she could see Swift. “Jason Kelce: Man of the People,” tweeted New Heights on Monday, along with footage of the center at a Bills tailgate.

As one network executive tells me about the Philadelphia Eagles center: “He’s obviously a star in the making and knows how to handle himself with a microphone.”

Mike Drops

CBS Sports announcer Jim Nantz nailed his play-by-play call of Bills kicker Tyler Bass missing the potential game-tying 44-yard field goal against the Chiefs. Nantz took viewers back to the franchise’s worst moment, when Bills kicker Scott Norwood missed the potential game-winner against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV in 1991. Like Norwood’s 47-yarder, Bass’ kick sailed “wide right.” The two most dreaded words in Buffalo have surfaced again,” said Nantz. … The NFL continues to post monstrous playoff TV numbers. In its first-ever divisional playoff telecast, ESPN averaged 31.8 million viewers for the Baltimore Ravens’ win over the Houston Texans, making it the network’s most-watched telecast ever dating back to 1987. Meanwhile, Fox Sports averaged 37.5 million viewers for the San Francisco 49ers’ win over the Green Bay Packers. It was the most-watched Saturday telecast—of any kind—since the 1994 Winter Olympics. CBS is due to release TV numbers for Chiefs-Bills on Tuesday. It should be a monster.

Michael McCarthy’s “Tuned In” column is at your fingertips every week with the latest insights and ongoings around sports media. If he hears it, you will too.