Shannon Sharpe’s run on ESPN will continue as he has agreed to a multi-year contract extension with ESPN.
According to the network, the 3x Super Bowl winner who first signed with ESPN in 2023, will have an expanded role on First Take and across other ESPN programs that will be revealed later.
“Shannon Sharpe has been an incredible addition to the First Take team, enhancing the show’s dynamic with his engaging presence and insightful commentary,” said David Roberts, ESPN’s Head of Event & Studio Production. “Shannon’s chemistry with Stephen A. Smith has elevated our debates and been another key reason First Take is the premier destination for morning sports discussion.”
The two most important keywords in Roberts’ statement, “debates” and “discussion,” highlight the path that Sharpe has traveled to generate the success he’s experiencing.
When Sharpe was an analyst on CBS Sports’ The NFL Today, he was good but his personality was tamed due to the show’s focus and vibe meant for traditional football fans.
When he got to FS1 and Undisputed, his humor, style, and takes on sports were given room to thrive. Over the next seven years, he evolved to become a voice that people wanted to hear for various reasons, but mostly to be entertained.
While the show didn’t deliver big ratings, Sharpe’s popularity and presence drew people to him, which helped drive the success of his Club Shay Shay podcast.
Through it all, some criticized him for his takes and lack of analysis. Yet Sharpe never professed to be a journalist. Instead, he proclaimed he was a “conversationalist,” which allowed him to speak with people and to his credit, smartly let them take the reins and run with the mostly single-sided, guest-led conversation.
This was evident in his now-famous interview with Katt Williams, which has over 70 million views and counting.
This formula enabled his podcast to quickly flourish. It now has over 3.2 million subscribers and continues to be an attractive and safe space for some of the most interesting and unfiltered guests in sports and entertainment such as Monique, Charles Barkley, Amanda Seales, and Cam Newton.
This formula also paved the path for his current success on ESPN, where he’s doing what needs to be done to drive ratings.
And that is what the media game is all about.
If you’ve watched First Take since Sharpe’s arrival, you can tell that he has quickly learned what Stephen A. Smith painfully learned after ESPN sent him to the bench back in 2009.
Ratings over everything.
Smith has been criticized his entire career for his takes. Through it all, he understood that as long as readers/viewers kept his name in their mouths and listened/watched, even if it was to ridicule him, he would be ok.
Last week, he was called out by rising star Monica McNutt for his take on the WNBA. Then this week, both he and Sharpe were ripped for their takes on Caitlin Clark.
But that fuels ratings success, which in turn gives ESPN and the show’s producers more reason to keep focusing on the topics that will draw these types of takes from the two media personalities.
And it works.
“First Take recently earned its 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year growth and most-viewed May ever, thanks in part to Sharpe’s contributions,” posted ESPN.
Sharpe’s quick adoption of Smith’s practices is the reason why ESPN has given him a contract extension that includes more real estate across the network.
“Being a part of this family has been a blessing. Everything about this relationship with ESPN, Stephen A., and First Take, has been tremendous,” said Sharpe. “I look forward to expanding my role and showing more of the world what I have to offer. The show goes on!”
The show is what it has always been and continues to be, and Sharpe’s persona fits right in.
So love him or hate him, Shannon Sharpe the “conversationalist” has mastered the media game and will now be on ESPN for a few more years.
