Stephen A. Smith (Photo via @awfulannouncing Twitter)
Some of Stephen A Smith’s colleagues at ESPN are against the possibility that he could be assigned to one of their prominent NFL programs.
Stephen A is under contract with the Worldwide Leader in Sports through 2025. It has been reported that the company previously offered him a new deal worth a whopping $18 million annually.
In a recent interview with Front Office Sports, Smith said he’d “love to” work on ESPN’s legendary “Monday Night Football” program. But a new report indicates that some of Smith’s colleagues are against the idea of him being assigned to that show.
According to a report from Steve Brenner of The U.S. Sun, other talents at ESPN “don’t want to see Smith on their coverage.” One source gave a scathing take on Stephen A Smith, stating that there’s “a huge red flag” on his ability to work with others:
“Stephen A Smith said that he is looking to do more NFL and eyeing Monday Night Football, but I think he doesn’t realize that nobody wants him here. The guys that cover NFL, the main analysts and specialists absolutely have zero interest on having him working with them.
He isn’t the guy that they really like, and they think that he isn’t legit to do so, and that he could stick with First Take and basketball.
Nobody wants him covering football, and many of the top analysts were talking about since he did that interview where Smith said so. They were laughing about it, some were saying that ‘there is no way he joins us, he is not one of us football guys and he wants the whole attention and all the spotlights.’ His reputation of not being a team player is a huge red flag…The workers talk to each other, they absolutely dislike him and don’t wan’t to deal with him.”
DALLAS! pic.twitter.com/6LerJMD8ns
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 15, 2024
The source also told the outlet that Stephen A Smith needs to focus on his work as a basketball analyst, claiming that the polarizing sports personality “has zero credibility as a football analyst.”
So if those colleagues get their way, Stephen A Smith won’t be assigned to “Monday Night Football.” If anything else, Smith will likely retain his role as the host of “First Take” if he signs a new deal.
“Monday Night Football” Is A Pipe Dream For Stephen A Smith
ESPN has drastically altered its crew for “Monday Night Football” over the past seven years ever since Jon Gruden left to return to NFL coaching in 2018. Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten and Booger McFarland were assigned to take over the broadcasts.
Witten returned to football after one season, and Tessitore and McFarland were replaced by Steve Levy, Louis Riddick and Brian Griese. Those three spent two years together in the MNF booth before ESPN hired longtime FOX Sports personalities Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
Buck and Aikman have remained a successful on-air tandem, so there’s no reason to think Stephen A. Smith will be assigned to the MNF coverage. Plus, they just added a new talent in Jason Kelce for the MNF Countdown crew.
