Stephen A. Smith, whether you love him or hate him, is undeniably one of the biggest names in sports media.
His rise started a little over a decade ago when he returned to ESPN and, alongside Skip Bayless, built "First Take" to be the network's flagship debate show. As the show continues to grow and add new and engaging talent, there have been no signs to indicate that Smith may fall off his perch.
Former ESPN host Dan Le Batard — who Smith calls a friend, but has also had public disagreements with in the recent past — recognized Smith's stardom in a recent episode of "The Dan Le Batard Show."
"He has conquered everything in the business," Le Batard said of Smith.
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But Le Batard said this in the context of suggesting that Smith may be preparing his next endeavor outside of ESPN, referring to Smith's promotion of his own show "The Stephen A. Smith Show" on "First Take" as a proof that he's using his platform on ESPN to begin to grow his individual brand.
"Now he's doing an infomercial on 'First Take' that builds his next business where he's just selling the next thing he's going to do," Le Batard said.
Le Batard's executive producer Mike Ryan Ruiz agreed with his boss, citing that Smith also has the foresight of growing himself on a video platform through his YouTube channel that already has about 428,000 subscribers.
"The dude is using ESPN as he grows his band, as he becomes synonymous with that brand, but also trying to distance himself a little bit and building out the video aspect of his next step. That's how you do it," Ruiz said.
Ruiz added that given how strong Smith and his team are building his brand, he is "so certain" that Smith will not be exclusively on the Walt Disney sports network (DIS) -) for much longer.
Le Batard then said that Smith is extremely valuable, so much so that he's probably not being paid enough by the network.
"Let me explain what's happening to you for those who don't understand because it's pretty simple, it's not that complicated. The biggest star at ESPN has realized he's underpaid," Le Batard said.
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Smith expressed in a recent interview with OutKick's Clay Travis that he would like to be the highest paid person on ESPN.
According to a report by The New York Post in 2019, Smith's contract — including a personal salary and production contract — is worth $12 million a year. It's unclear how many members of ESPN are paid more than him, though it's reported that Pat McAfee and his show were licensed by the network for $17 million a year.
While Smith continues to reiterate that he wants ESPN and his show to be successful, Le Batard's comments aren't the first time its been suggested that Smith could be distancing himself from the worldwide leader in sports. A Front Office Sports report in August suggested that ESPN's acquisition of former "Undisputed" host Shannon Sharpe sets up the perfect succession story for Smith should he depart.
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