The search for the next face of the league might be underway, but for ESPN, it has been Stephen A. Smith all along. And it looks like that’s not changing anytime soon. The ever-vocal analyst just inked a whopping $100 million deal, locking him in for the next five years. But before diving into the new chapter, he took a trip down memory lane to reconnect with one of the people who helped shape him into the media powerhouse he is today.
After almost a decade, Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless were spotted sharing the screen together on The Skip Bayless Show. Excited about his former colleague’s new achievement, the host asked Stephen A. how he felt about ESPN’s extension. The 57-year-old called it “very humbling” and then, with a deep sense of gratitude, poured out his emotions about the journey. “Very few people on the planet Earth know my story better than you. It was just announced, we’re doing this interview just hours after it was announced I reached the new long-term extension with ESPN, and you got to start back to the origins and where it all began. And it all began with you,” Smith stated.
Then he recalled, “It all began with you and Jamie Horwitz, my former boss over at First Take, pushing for me to be on First Take, being limited to one appearance a week to start off that. And even that, you had battles just to get me on the air, and then ultimately insisting on having me on five days a week. And there’s no way on Earth that that happens without you.” From starting with just one appearance a week, the duo worked hard to get Stephen A. on five days a week. And eventually he has become the star of First Take. So, he made sure to express his gratitude to Bayless and the ex-ESPN executive.
Stephen A. reflected on his career achievements as a newspaper writer, being in radio, and television personality, including his work on NBA Countdown (formerly NBA Shootaround), but emphasized that none of it would have been possible without the breakthrough of First Take.
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