Shannon Sharpe just confirmed what many were expecting, and what had been previously reported: He is headed to ESPN to debate with Stephen A. Smith.
Sharpe confirmed the report by The New York Post from last week that he will be joining Smith on ESPN's "First Take" through a funny social media post on the morning of Aug. 24.
The post edited the faces of Sharpe and Smith onto the bodies of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The image Sharpe used was an iconic picture of the two NBA legends during the first year that they teamed on the Miami Heat, and ESPN was edited onto the jerseys of the two NBA stars.
GET YOUR POPCORN READY🔥🔥🔥🔥 #2HBCUALUMS #SSU #WSSU pic.twitter.com/2xoj0sSupP
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) August 24, 2023
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“GET YOUR POPCORN READY,” Sharpe captioned the post.
ESPN’s logo is seen all around the shot and the logo of “First Take” is also plastered at the bottom of the stadium’s jumbotron.
Stephen A. Smith confirmed his new colleague's announcement on "First Take."
"It is official -- Shannon Sharpe is coming to First Take," Smith said.
Smith also said that Sharpe will be making his debut on Monday, Sept. 4, a few days ahead of the NFL season that begins on Sept. 7.
While Smith said he literally just learned of Sharpe's announcement, he was quick to already take jabs at his friend who is about to be his debate partner.
"Condolences in advance -- You're not used to getting beat down," Smith teased.
Stephen A. 🤝 Shannon Sharpe@ShannonSharpe joins @FirstTake September 4 🍿 pic.twitter.com/zsLMBIMtHc
— ESPN (@espn) August 24, 2023
The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand first reported that Sharpe -- who left FS1’s “Undisputed” in June -- would be joining “First Take” twice a week, specifically on Mondays and Tuesdays. Smith also confirmed these days for Sharpe.
More Shannon Sharpe & Stephen A. Smith:
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- Stephen A. Smith and Dan Le Batard just got a reality check
While both Sharpe and Smith have expressed publicly that they would like to partner up prior to this announcement, Smith actually rebutted Marchand’s report hours after it was reported saying that nothing was official yet.
However, it seems like it was only a matter of days before The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) -) sports network or one of the two stars made an announcement.
The NFL legend joins a rotating cast of partners for Smith on “First Take” which includes SiriusXM’s Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, and former NFL players Ryan Clark, Dan Orlovsky, and Marcus Spears.
Sharpe also made his second major announcement in two days. On Aug. 23, he announced that he would be partnering with former Fox colleague Colin Cowherd to bring Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast to The Volume, Cowherds media and podcast company.
