The sudden contractual buyout between Shannon Sharpe and Fox Sports left sports fans all across the spectrum in a state of shock because the buy-sell agreement signifies the end of a staple in sports media. Skip and Shannon: Undisputed will conclude its' highly regarded seven-year run shortly after the conclusion of the 2023 NBA Finals. Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest on-air duos in sports television history, similar to Mike and the Mad Dog and Skip's first go-around on First Take with Stephen A. Smith. Although Skip Bayless famously helped Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe land starring roles on two of the sports' most significant debate platforms, several media members have attributed the latest breakup to his verbal altercation with Shannon during an episode of Undisputed on December 12th. About two weeks later, Shannon was a "no show" at work following a controversial tweet from Skip about Damar Hamiln's near-death injury on Monday Night Football (January 2nd). Instances such as these sparked speculation from Skip and Shannon's former colleague at FS1, Marcellus Wiley, about their inevitable breakup, but fans still held out hope that the show would remain intact.
The buyout means that Shannon Sharpe is about to become one of the most sought after free-agents in recent history regarding sports television. Yesterday, during an episode of The Pat McAfee Show, the outspoken host made an on-air pitch for the proprietor of Club Shay Shay to join him on ESPN. McAfee recently finalized a multi-year deal worth $85 million with ESPN for his show to air on their platform starting this Fall.
"Shannon being available [is a] narrative shifter for a place, that's a potential massive asset to a platform that maybe wants to launch," McAfee. "[I experienced] this space from a business standpoint a few months back, and there's a lot of places that are trying to get into the world of the sports media. There's a lot of places that are trying to launch their thing, who have rights to stuff either in the future or are planning on getting rights with a lot of money behind them. So, Shannon is going to be in a really good spot here, I think, and I hope to hell he comes to ESPN. [I say] Come to ESPN, and we're not even at ESPN, but we're gonna be there [this Fall], and if Shannon Sharpe is to be there and you starting talking about what a day could look like, that's f*cking awesome, and I am very excited about it."
Although the on-air friction between Skip and Shannon has been well documented, there are also reports that a growing power struggle behind the scenes led to the split because Skip was the show's executive producer, but as Shannon's star began to rise, he reportedly wanted equal creative control.
To hear Pat McAfee speculate on what's next for Shannon Sharpe's next move, scroll up and skip ahead to the 1:05 mark.
Source: YouTube
