Stephen A. Smith Addresses Report of Shannon Sharpe Joining ‘First Take’

Stephen A. Smith has lobbied for Shannon Sharpe to join him on the ESPN show First Take following his exit from the FS1 show Undisputed. It looks like that could happen as Andrew Marchand and Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post said that Sharpe has agreed to be part of the ESPN family. But when Smith responded to the report on his podcast, he said the report is “premature.” 

“Sorry Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, it’s a bit premature,” Smith said per The Spun. “Shannon Sharpe has yet to sign on the dotted line to be a member of First Take. It has not happened yet.”  While Smith said Sharpe has not signed a contract, that doesn’t a deal won’t be done soon. “I’m still confident it will happen. I still believe it will happen. I think it needs to happen. And I have no doubt I’m going to exhaust any means I have available to me to make it happen,” Smith said.   

View on X

Marchand and Glasspiegel said that Sharpe will join Smith on First Take on Mondays and Tuesdays during the football season. Sharpe made appearances on First Take before joining Undisputed. The show was on ESPN 2 at the time, and Sharpe would work with Skip Bayless, who brought Sharpe on to be on Undisputed in 2016. 

Sharpe, who played in NFL for 14 seasons and won three Super Bowls with two teams, left Undisputed after the NBA Finals came to an end in June. In his final episode, Sharpe sent an emotional message to Bayless. “Skip Bayless. You fought for me, brother. I’m here because of you,” Sharpe said. “You’ve allowed me to share the stage with you. You’ve allowed me to share the platform. I’m going to cry in the car, but I’m not going to cry now. The opportunity that you gave me, to become what I became, I’m forever indebted to you. I’ll never forget what you did for me. You’ve helped me grow more than you’ll ever know. One more thing before you go, Skip. One more thing. All I ask, is when you lay your head of that pillow at night, know I gave you everything I had. I gave you everything I had.”