One of the biggest free agents in the world of sports right now is Shannon Sharpe. The Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee recently left Fox Sports and the morning debate show Undisputed, and now, there’s apparently a bit of a bidding war to try and acquire his services, according to Michael McCarthy and A.J. Perez of Front Office Sports.
Per their report, Sharpe has held conversations with ESPN about a role that would let him become one of the personalities who debate Stephen A. Smith on First Take, while allowing him to pursue other interests in the world of sports media. And while they made clear that nothing is done between Sharpe and the Worldwide Leader, it sure seems like Smith and Sharpe are cooking something up, as Smith quote tweeted the report and and made clear that he will “all the things I need to address” on his podcast.
Look for me on Friday, Folks! I’ll be addressing all the things I need to address. Back on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” podcast on Friday — then LIVE on @FirstTake Monday morning. See y’all in a minute. Buckle Up!!! https://t.co/w4wHgLbUWQ
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) July 19, 2023
Not long after, Sharpe QT’d Smith and used a whole lot of popcorn emojis in his response.
Whatcha addressing on Fri? I’ve got some free time so feel free 2 FT me b4 my meetings. 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 https://t.co/D3fdEvJHTm
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) July 19, 2023
Smith has expressed that Sharpe would be welcome on First Take if that was the move he wanted to make after he left Fox. The catch is that Smith wouldn’t want Sharpe to have the same role that he had on Undisputed where he was a permanent co-host who debated Skip Bayless — Smith’s former full-time partner on First Take — every day. Instead, Smith would want him to be one of the show’s contributors, which indeed appears to be the arrangement that Sharpe would pursue here.
