Stephen A. Smith ‘closes in on huge new ESPN contract’ after rejecting opening $18m-a-year offer

Stephen A. Smith appears to be staying with ESPN as he enters the final year of his contract. 

The two sides have been negotiating a new deal for months, and Variety is now reporting that a final agreement may be just weeks away. The contract could create a ‘first-look’ agreement for Smith’s other potential endeavors at the network, a source told Variety.

ESPN has declined comment on the matter.

Previously the Wall Street Journal reported Smith rejected an $18 million-a-year offer from ESPN. Multiple outlets have since reported he’s seeking $25 million annually from ESPN as part of his next deal.

The 56-year-old is already a popular podcaster and ESPN host, working on such programs as First Take and the World Wide Leader’s in-studio NBA coverage. 

ESPN may not be the only suitor for Smith, who has recently dipped his toe into political infotainment with appearances on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show. The New York native could create his own platform, with the help of his agency, WME.

‘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 deal with this, a deal with that, whatever, and at the end of the day, it’s $20 million a year,’ James Andrew Miller told SI Media’s Jimmy Traina in June. ‘Smith currently has a podcast partnership with iHeartMedia, and recently produced a documentary for ESPN about the history of sports punditry.

‘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 added.