Shannon Sharpe’s exit from Fox Sports 1’s Undisputed was rumored for weeks, and the Pro Football Hall of Famer made it official Tuesday, saying goodbye to the show after seven years. Although there was widespread speculation that Sharpe and co-host Skip Bayless butted heads toward the end of their tenure together, Sharpe thanked Bayless on his way out for giving him the opportunity to work on the show.
While Sharpe got emotional on his last day, Bayless saved his thoughts for his podcast. On The Skip Bayless Show, Bayless explained that he was so upset over Sharpe’s exit that he couldn’t sleep the night before.
“To sum this up, on this past Monday night, ahead of Shannon’s departure on Tuesday, I did pull an all-nighter ’cause I couldn’t sleep a wink,” Bayless said. “I tried, and I failed. I was just so keyed up, so worked up, so torn up over what was happening, I just couldn’t go to sleep. The truth is, this past Tuesday, I tried to go to sleep in the afternoon. And I had a hard time going to sleep even then.”
.@RealSkipBayless pulled an all-nighter before Shannon’s final show: “I was so torn up I couldn’t go to sleep.” pic.twitter.com/VU6UvdqpKi
— The Skip Bayless Show (@SkipBaylessShow) June 16, 2023
On Sharpe’s last show, Bayless thanked his partner directly for the past seven years of sports debate.
“I want to thank you for dedicating yourself to this job. It is a voracious beast of a show, day after day after day,” Bayless told Sharpe on the broadcast. “I want to thank you for competing as hard as you competed with me, because the greatest compliment I can give you is you were a worthy adversary.”
.@RealSkipBayless thanks @ShannonSharpe for 7 years together on Undisputed: pic.twitter.com/0ag0VXWOto
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) June 13, 2023
