Skip Bayless’ exes could be teaming up.
Shannon Sharpe, who left his post with Bayless on FS1’s “Undisputed” in June, could join ESPN’s “First Take” as a contributor alongside former Bayless co-host Stephen A. Smith, according to Front Office Sports.
The Hall of Fame tight end, 55, told USA Today it would be “great” if he were to join forces with Smith, and teased an announcement about his future in the coming days.
Joining ESPN would give Sharpe a bigger TV audience than the one he shared with Bayless on FS1 — 421,000 viewers to 154,000 — and allow him to continue his “Club Shay Shay” podcast, which has 1.23 million subscribers on YouTube.
Still, it would be a part-time role as Smith prefers a panel of rotating co-hosts to a permanent one.
Smith’s longtime co-host, Max Kellerman, was recently laid off by ESPN, though their fractious TV relationship came to an end in 2021.
Smith responded to the report of working with Sharpe on Twitter, causing the former NFL star to trend on Twitter — and respond.
“Look for me on Friday, Folks! I’ll be addressing all the things I need to address,” Smith wrote.
“Whatcha addressing on Fri? I’ve got some free time so feel free 2 [FaceTime] me b4 my meetings,” Sharpe retorted.
It was all in good fun, though.
“I found out why I was trending. I guess some people know more than what I know. That was my first time hearing about it,” Sharpe told USA Today.
“Since I found out I was trending for that, I went along and played with Stephen A., because he’s going to make an announcement on Friday. I was like ‘OK, I want to hear the announcement you’re going to make.'”
Sharpe potentially coming aboard the Worldwide Leader — even as a contributor — may raise some eyebrows in more skeptical ways after ESPN laid off around 20 on-air personalities as parent company Disney sought to cut costs.
