Former ESPN analyst JaMarr John Johnson recently spoke about the reason behind Stephen A. Smith’s huge paychecks on ESPN during his appearance on Fearless podcast. Stephen A. Smith has reportedly been earning as much as $10,000,000 annually via his contract with First Take. This is despite the show garnering around 400k viewers every episode.
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This is in stark contrast to the kind of payouts social media platforms provide. Johnson used the example of Tucker Carlson to explain the difference in the pay rates between the two. Carson had around 8-9 times the viewership and yet earned only around double that of Stephen A. Smith. Johnson’s interview shed light on how media outlets covering sports in the USA tend to grossly overpay their analysts compared to a social media platform such as YouTube.
Former ESPN analyst claims Stephen A. Smith’s YouTube channel will give him a wake-up call
ESPN’s monopoly over American sporting leagues such as the NBA allows them to generate huge amounts of money. This partly flows back to their analysts, with Smith in particular known to be getting paid around $10 million a year.
This is despite the fact that First Take only garners around 400k viewers a day. Comparing the situation with Tucker Carlson, Johnson said that he was getting paid only twice of Smith despite generating 8-9 times the viewers:
“This is what, the unfair advantage that ESPN has had has allowed. When 80% of people has no interest in ESPN but they are footing the bill. That’s why Stephen A. Smith, 400 thousand viewers a day, can get 10 million dollars. It never makes sense. It is a fantasy world that he has been able to live in, coz they have a monopoly. You know Tucker Carson had 3 and a half million viewers a night, and got paid, let’s say 20 million. He has got 8 to 9 times the viewers as Stephen A. Smith, but only makes twice as much the money. This is the fantasy world these guys have lived in, and they are about to get a wakeup call. That is why Stephen A. has got a YouTube channel.”
Fox’s The Tucker Carlson Show was known to pull in more than 3 million viewers for each episode. Johnson claimed that analysts such as Smith have been able to live in a fantasy land due to the kid of money they have been paid. However, now, with Smith creating regular content for his YouTube channel as well, he might as well be served a “wake-up call.”
Stephen A. Smith wanted Shannon Sharpe despite speculation about potential exit from First Take
With ESPN laying off a host of employees in the last year, Smith was also unsure about his future with First Take recently. Smith had proclaimed on his YouTube channel that “he could be next.”
However, just weeks later, he was seen talking about Shannon Sharpe’s arrival on the show. He claimed that he aimed to get Sharpe on the show, and had already been talking to him.
Hence, despite the speculation, it seems as if Smith has recently been assured over his future on First Take. Not only is he earning a huge bag, but he is also apparently involved in the show’s negotiations for Sharpe.
