Stephen A. Smith Shouldn't Be ESPN's Highest-Paid When Compared To Troy Aikman, Pat McAfee, Others | Bobby Burack
Stephen A. Smith told OutKick he deserves to be the highest-paid talent at ESPN.
“Yes. I’m not stuttering… hell yes, that’s absolutely true,” Smith told Clay Travis on Tuesday.
“I look at whether it’s Pat McAfee, Mike Greenberg, Scott Van Pelt, Troy Aikman, Joe Buck, Kirk Herbstreit the list goes on and on… I’m so honored to have the colleagues that I have and work with at ESPN every day.
"But at the end of the day, it would be nice one day for this man to stand before everyone and say I am number 1, and this says I’m number 1."
Smith currently makes $12 million a year, behind Joe Buck at $15 million, Pat McAfee at $17 million, and Troy Aikman at $18 million.
Stephen A. is more synonymous with the brand than those three broadcasters. He's been there longer than appears across more ESPN properties.
He might also be the most famous of the three, though Aikman's years as QB for the Dallas Cowboys are a factor.
That said, Smith's case that he should be the highest-paid talent at ESPN is not as strong as he claims.
Aikman and Buck are more valuable to ESPN than Smith. They lead the broadcast for Monday Night Football, for which ESPN pays around $2.7 billion per year.
MNF is the parent company Disney's most valuable sports property, bar none.
There is a belief around the industry that the NFL awarded ESPN with better matchups this year upon adding Aikman and Buck to the booth.
For example, the NFL handed the network the most hyped matchup of the season in Chiefs-Eagles two weeks ago.
ESPN didn't receive those types of games when Steve Levy and Louis Riddick were in the booth.
Buck and Aikman are the differences between Eagles-Chiefs and Jags-Colts. Smith is the difference between 400,000 viewers at 10 a.m. and 300,000 viewers.
Live games always trump debate programs. Just look at the market.
Aikman's counterpart at CBS, Tony Romo, makes $17 million a year. Buck's equivalent at Amazon, Al Michaels, makes around $11 million a year.
The next closest debate show host to Smith is Skip Bayless, whom Fox Sports recently signed to an $8 million a year deal.
In a hypothetical sports media draft with ESPN, CBS, NBC, and Fox Sports -- where all talents were available -- Aikman and Buck would go well before Stephen A.
Here's my official Sports Media Mock Draft:
Now, based on that logic, you'd say Smith should be paid more than McAfee. Yes, in a vacuum. But not as currently constructed.
Stephen A. and McAfee's deals are not equivalents.
Smith is employed by ESPN and is featured on ESPN properties, such as First Take and NBA Countdown.
By contrast, ESPN licenses McAfee's daily show for $17 million a year -- out of which McAfee pays his staff.
McAfee's show is worth more than Stephen A. as a talent. Don't take our word for it. Again, listen to the market. FanDuel had previously licensed McAfee's show for a reported $30 million a year.
Simply put, ESPN paid McAfee, Buck, and Aikman what it took to outbid competing networks. Stephen A. did not have a competing offer above $12 million when he signed his current deal in 2019. I broke the news of his extension while at a different outlet.
That's not to say that Smith can't expand his self-operated podcast and production company away from ESPN.
If Dan Le Batard can license his podcast for around $16 million a year, Smith has a case that his podcast is worth $20 million.
But that podcast does not air on ESPN. It's separate. Thus at ESPN, Stephen A. Smith does not yet have a valid argument that he should be the highest-paid talent.
That doesn't mean he won't ultimately be. But the market says he shouldn't be.
Stephen A. Talks to OutKick
Here are some other thoughts I had from Stephen A's interview with Clay:
Smith says a Trump win in 2024 could start a civil war:
“I’m not as down on all of Trump’s policies as people are.
“There are some good things he’s done. I’m from an HBCU. I know that he did things for HBCUs. I think that he’s so divisive that he could potentially cause a civil war in this country. That’s my concern about him.”
While I don't see a civil war incoming, he's right in that a Trump win would likely incite violence by left-wing thugs.
And Americans might best prepare for that reality. Trump is pulling away from Joe Biden in the odds to win in 2024...
Despite working for ESPN, Stephen A. is not exactly what we would call "woke." Though he at times plus out the race card when unwarranted, he's overall an independent thinker.
Smith is one of the few people who will appear on the Mark Levin Show one day and Jimmy Kimmel Live the next.
And Stephen A. isn't a fan woke culture, either. Take a listen:
You can watch Stephen A.'s full interview with OutKick here.