ESPN has done a good job in recent years of making sure its highest-profile talent sticks around, and over the last few months, that meant dealing with the fact that Stephen A. Smith‘s contract is up in 2025. There’s been a ton of intrigue over what the future would hold for Smith, who reports say wanted everything from big money, to the opportunity to get more involved in the network’s NFL coverage, to the ability to spread his wings and do more than just talk about sports. (He has not said anything, however, about trying to join his friends on Inside the NBA once ESPN begins airing that next year, which an ESPN executive has already said won’t happen.)
Whatever that ends up looking like going forward is unclear, but it does appear that Smith is slated to remain at the Worldwide Leader in Sports while taking on more of a role with Disney. That is according to Brian Steinberg of Variety, who reports that Smith and ESPN are “closing in” on a new contract.
Via Variety:
The two sides, who have been in negotiations for several months, are said to be hopeful they can reach a deal over the next several weeks, according to a person familiar with the situation. ESPN and Disney have been in talks with Smith to devise a new pact that could involve creating a sort of “first-look” agreement for Smith-backed concepts across Disney’s general-entertainment properties, according to this person and a second familiar with the talks.
Smith has said in the past that he’d be interested in doing something like taking over for Jimmy Kimmel when his time as a late night host comes to an end, and it’s unclear if a new deal that gets him more involved across Disney properties would include something like that.
According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, the deal on the table for Smith from ESPN/Disney is for six years, $120 million, but Smith pushed back on reports the deal was close saying that was “FALSE” in a text to Marchand. We will have to wait to see if Smith decides to take the deal or if he continues to push for more — or looks for an unknown second suitor for his services to beat ESPN’s offer. If he does take it, the $20 million per year figure would set the market for a non-former athlete in the sports media space.
