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After every Dallas Cowboys game in the NFL playoffs, sports fans can already expect one thing:
Immediately after the game, Stephen A. Smith posted a video of himself in front of his television set. The next day, Smith will clown the cowboys on ESPN’s “First Take.”
Smith found his path in NFL media as a Cowboys midget. He talks about the NFL on “First Take,” but Smith’s strength is known to be the NBA. His journalism career began when he covered the Philadelphia 76ers for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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But as the face of ESPN, the world’s leading sports company, Smith has had to evolve into a voice on the biggest global stories in all of sports — which is why he’s been talking so much about the WNBA this year — and there’s no bigger league in the United States than the NBA. American football.
That’s why Smith reportedly wants to talk more about the topic.
Smith wants more NFL coverage for his upcoming contract with ESPN
Smith’s contract with ESPN, which he signed in 2019, expires in July 2025. He makes about $12 million annually on his current deal, but has said publicly that he wants to become the network’s highest-paid talent.
That means surpassing the likes of Troy Aikman ($18 million per year) and Pat McAfee ($17 million per year).
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Negotiations between Smith’s agency at WME and ESPN are reportedly ongoing, and according to a report from Front Office Sports, Smith could receive around $20 million per year in this next deal.
He could also step away from the network and become independent, focusing on his podcast “The Stephen A. Smith Show” and production company Mr. Smith. SAS Inc.
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So, if ESPN is going to retain Smith, it may need to offer more than just money. The selling point to lure Smith may be to give him more “live” coverage of the NFL, according to FOS.
While Smith talks about the NFL on “First Take,” he is not on any of the other NFL-related broadcasts. For the NBA, Smith appears on ESPN’s studio show “NBA Countdown” and occasionally guests on ESPN’s daily NBA show, “NBA Today.”
Smith could receive similar treatment with the NBA and NFL, which would land him on “Sunday NFL Countdown” or “Monday Night Countdown” on ESPN.
Since Smith’s contract is still up for renewal in July 2025, don’t expect Smith to participate in NFL studio shows this upcoming season. That is unless they actually tried to throw it away to give it a chance.
If that happens, it’s worth noting that ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” will carry two Cowboys games this season: a Week 11 game against the Houston Texans, and a Week 14 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
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