When Shannon Sharpe departed from FS1, where he co-hosted Undisputed alongside Skip Bayless, the reasons behind his departure remained shrouded in mystery. Sharpe, a former NFL tight end, chose to keep quiet about the situation.
However, it was evident that there had been a significant strain between Sharpe and Bayless. This strain came to a head during a heated on-air exchange, sparked by a debate about Tom Brady. The debate took a personal turn when Bayless criticized Sharpe’s NFL career, declaring, “[Brady]’s still playing at a high level at 45 when you had to stop at 35, that’s the point.” Sharpe promptly fired back at Bayless, essentially calling him out for his disrespectful comments. Bayless continued to argue by asserting, “[Brady]’s way better than you were. Way better.”
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It’s worth noting that Brady and Sharpe played different positions in the NFL, with Brady as a quarterback and Sharpe as a tight end. Comparing their careers seemed irrelevant, unless the intention was to highlight how both players, despite being seventh-round draft picks, became two of the most successful figures in NFL history.
Subsequently, Sharpe joined Stephen A. Smith as a co-host on ESPN’s First Take. In a recent conversation with Smith, Sharpe shed light on his departure from Undisputed, citing the infamous segment as a pivotal moment. He expressed that Bayless “had no respect” for him during their time together on the show.
Sharpe had this to say on The Stephen A. Smith Show:
“A lot of that is my fault. Because there were times that led up to that that I felt shots were taken and I let it go. And I should’ve said something then, but I didn’t. And I would bring it to people’s attention, and they brushed it up under the rug. So that was my fault that it got to that point and he felt that he could go over the top in that situation. I think in any relationship where there’s host, co-host… once one partner has no respect for the other, the other partner then in turn loses respect for said partner. Then, I think it’s only a matter of time. Because in that moment I had felt he had lost all respect for me. He had no respect for me.
“… I knew in that moment in time, it was only a matter of time. They were going to have to separate that. I knew that. I knew that. I was willing to play out the contract, but I knew it was going to end because he had started coming with greater, greater regularity, the disrespect.
“You can say I’m loud, you can say I’m obnoxious, you can say I’m arrogant. But to try to poo-poo my career, a seventh-rounder that started out on special teams and played so well that I got into the Hall of Fame. To try to minimize that was disheartening for me. …I considered Skip a friend. For you to take that kind of personal shot at me, it really hurt me, Stephen A. It really did.”
Sharpe also expressed a desire for a more amicable resolution to the situation and conveyed his gratitude for the opportunity he had been given. He acknowledged that he appreciated Bayless advocating for him to co-host Undisputed, especially when FS1 initially proposed partnering him with a journalist.
Nonetheless, Sharpe emphasized his discomfort with the notion that “Skip Bayless made Shannon Sharpe.”
“Skip Bayless did not make Shannon Sharpe relatable. Skip Bayless did not make Shannon Sharpe the storyteller he is. Skip Bayless did not make Shannon Sharpe the football player that can break down plays and say, ‘This is what happened. That’s what happened. And this is why the play worked or didn’t work.’
“Yes, I’m going to miss aspects of it. Yes, I’m going to miss debating him. But it had gotten to the point the last six or seven months… and I won’t allow it to ruin the six great years that we had. But it had gotten to the point that we needed to go our separate ways.”
Sharpe and Bayless engaged in regular debates on the day’s top sports topics during their tenure on Undisputed, and for the most part, their interactions were characterized by mutual respect. However, a distinct divide became evident in the past year when the two clashed, a fact that Sharpe confirmed in his conversation with Smith.
In recent weeks, Sharpe and Smith’s First Take has outperformed Undisputed in terms of viewership. According to Awful Announcing, on the first Monday after the NFL season, First Take averaged 626,000 viewers, while Undisputed drew 185,000 viewers. Similarly, on Tuesday, First Take averaged 717,000 viewers, while Undisputed had 118,000 viewers on the same day.
