Could a Skip Bayless-Lil Wayne Show Actually Work?

Skip Bayless plans to launch a new show with rapper Lil Wayne.

That is according to Bayless' former FS1 colleague Marcellus Wiley. "[Skip] is running it back with Lil Wayne. That’s what the word on the street is,"Wiley said on his podcast Tuesday. 

"Got this report, can’t out my source because then my source would be outed and I wouldn’t get any more information or intel like I did. Like I told you when Skip Bayless’s last day was at Undisputed, that came to be true. This shall come to be true as well," Wiley added.

Bayless, as Wiley also first reported, departed FS1 and "Undisputed" last month after eight years. Skip has continued to host his podcast, where he has teased a new project. 

"I can’t wait to reveal all of the above as we get closer to the launch of the NFL season," said Bayless in August.

While Bayless teaming up with a rapper sounds strange on the surface, he and Wayne are friends. GQ profiled Wayne and Bayless last October about their "wholesome relationship."

"Their working relationship is rooted in what is, by all accounts, a very loving friendship," opened the piece. "When they’re not arguing about sports—Wayne is constantly needling Bayless’ beloved Dallas Cowboys, who Weezy is fond of calling the "Cowgirls"—they’re hanging in Los Angeles together, often with Bayless’ wife Ernestine."

Perhaps the Bayless-Wayne project has been in the works for a while.

In May, a podcast listener asked Bayless if there was anything in his career that he "still hopes to accomplish," to which he responded, "A show with Lil Wayne."

"I’m going to do a show with my brother Lil Wayne," Bayless said. "I’m not talking about just a couple of segments at the end of Friday’s Undisputed, I’m talking about a show. A real live show. A sports-based show with music and life mixed in."

Now, the question is whether there's a market for a show with Bayless and Lil Wayne. After all, both are seemingly on the decline in their respective careers. 

"Undisputed" often averaged as low as 40,000 viewers near the end of Bayless' run. Wayne hasn't had a top-selling album since "Funeral" in 2020. Most of his latest singles failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100.

Skip Bayless and Lil Wayne via Getty Images.

Still, a show with Bayless and Wayne would be unique. Promotion should not be an issue. Bayless and Wayne have a combined 37 million followers on X (34 million for Wayne, 3 million for Bayless).

A show with the two of them could appeal to brands like Roku, DraftKings, or FanDuel. All three companies are now in the sports talk business and none of their hosts have the name recognition of Bayless or Wayne. They could also air the show directly on X and/or YouTube, on which the most viewers would find them.

Either way, it'd be wise for Bayless to pivot past daily debate topics. 

The format worked for him at ESPN with Stephen A. Smith and for a while at FS1 with Shannon Sharpe. However, viewers made it quite clear over the past year that they are sick of the overly simplistic act of a white guy debating a black guy about LeBron, Jordan, the Cowboys, and NBA regular season games.

Running the same format back, this time with Lil Wayne, isn't likely to find sustained success. That is especially true digitally, where the most successful shows are more conversational.

To the extent to which Skip is capable of not debating LeBron vs. Jordan, he should.

For more updates on Skip Bayless and Lil Wayne, check back with – who else? – Marcellus Wiley.