ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith has no aspirations to get into politics, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to talk about the topic.
Smith and ESPN have reached agreement on a new five-year contract worth at least $100 million that will give him that opportunity, according to The Athletic. Under the new deal, Smith will remain on “First Take,’ a morning sports talk show he’s starred on since 2012. However, the media personality will step back from other obligations and appearances on the network to enter into the political media arena.
Smith’s name has been floated as a potential presidential Democratic nominee for 2028, but Smith shot down the idea and told USA TODAY Sports he doesn’t ‘give a damn about the office.’ He said he’s more interested in holding politicians accountable and would ‘salivate’ at the opportunity to verbally spar with candidates, much like he does on his sports shows.
‘I know the one thing that I want more so than the presidency is … to be on a debate stage debating those presidential candidates,’ Smith told USA TODAY Sports in early February. ‘I want to be on a debate stage going up against a bunch of politicians that’s going to try to sell to America that they have your best interest at heart.’
Smith will have the opportunity to discuss politics on other networks. In doing so, Smith will reportedly step back from being a regular on “NBA Countdown,” ESPN’s top NBA pregame show, after the network signed a licensing deal with TNT Sports for “Inside The NBA.” (Smith will still make guest appearances on the program as warranted.)
Smith disclosed that he voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, but he’s been critical of both the Democratic and Republican parties recently. He’s shared his political views during various appearances on other networks, including ABC’s ‘The View,’ Fox News’ ‘The Sean Hannity Show’ and HBO’s ‘Real Time With Bill Maher.’
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