ESPN does not want one of its biggest personalities to leave the sports behemoth.
The network has offered “First Take” talking head Stephen A. Smith a five-year, $90 million deal ($18 million per year) to remain at ESPN with his contract expiring in 2025, according to Puck News.
ESPN reportedly pitched to William Morris Endeavor (WME), the agency that represents Smith, on the idea that he could become the highest-paid talent at the Worldwide Leader.
Nevertheless, Smith, according to Puck, is looking for around $25 million a year.
Before the start of the 2022 NFL season, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman signed mega contracts to join ESPN, with the latter signing a deal around $90 over five years, The Post reported at the time.
The news comes about a week after journalist and reporter James Andrew Miller spoke on the “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” podcast about the early stages of the contract negotiations and that Smith wants a “big, big number.”
“Stephen A.’s deal is coming up,” Miller said on the show last week. “In fact, I think there have been preliminary talks already that have started. He’s looking for a big, big number,” Miller said. “And I also feel, given the content world, he doesn’t even have to have another offer from one entity for that big number.
“I think what ESPN is up against is the possibility that WME could go out and create an architecture where Stephen A. has a podcast, a this, a deal with this, a deal with that, whatever, and at the end of the day, it’s $20 million a year.”
Smith joined ESPN in 2003, and has worked in various roles, including having his own show “Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith” run on ESPN2 from 2005-07.
Now, Smith, 56, the former newspaper columnist, is most known for his loquaciousness on “First Take” and “NBA Countdown,” seemingly making headlines daily for his opinions about a whole host of topics.
Outside of ESPN, he has the “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” a podcast where he discusses just about everything — going far outside the sports realm when he sees fit.
Miller added on the Sports Illustrated podcast that Smith could leave ESPN if it came down to it.
“I do believe there are enough possibilities that Stephen A. can get outside of ESPN and even outside an exclusive deal with another network that could make him very happy and very rich,” Miller said.