“No Shade Against ESPN”: Stephen A. Smith Claims He Negotiated Exit From NBA Countdown in $100M Contract

Stephen A. Smith is a busy man. Some people love him, some people don’t, but everyone has to admit that ESPN’s highest paid on-air talent works hard for his money.

Stephen A. is so omnipresent on the airwaves that when he’s not around, he’s conspicuous by his absence. That’s been the case on NBA Countdown, as the new-look studio show no longer includes him as a regular guest.

In light of the Worldwide Leader restructuring the show around Malika Andrews, Kendrick Perkins, Brian Windhorst, Shams Charania and Mike Malone, basketball fans have wondered if the impossible had actually happened. Has Stephen A. been demoted?

Yesterday, Stephen A. addressed those concerns, and though some people are still dubious, his response makes perfect sense.

“I had a contract negotiation last year that started in June and ended in March going into April,” Stephen A. said. “It was decided at that particular moment in time that I wouldn’t be doing NBA Countdown any more because I didn’t want to. I love doing the show, but after the show is over, I got a whole bunch of other stuff that I wanna do, and I didn’t want to be stuck in studio until midnight.”

“No shade against ESPN, no shade against my wonderful colleagues,” he continued, before singing the praises of the talent that still remains on the show. “But in case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve got other things on my plate.”

Stephen A. pointed out that two of his radio shows weren’t regularly running last year while he fulfilled his NBA Countdown duties, but now that he’s been freed up, they are. They’ve also been moved under the banner of his own production company, while he also has other irons in the fire with game shows and other content.

Since Stephen A. signed a reported $100 million contract, so any possibility that he had been demoted from NBA Countdown was newsworthy. ESPN has undergone many rounds of staffing changes over the years, with lots of top talent being let go, but he’s been one of the few on-air personalities that has remained safe.

He did clarify that he’s still open to making occasional NBA Countdown appearances, and his contract does allow for that.

Viewers can still see plenty of Stephen A. on First Take and various other ESPN properties, while in the meantime, ESPN’s NBA coverage is in arguably the best spot it’s ever been in thanks to the addition of Inside the NBA, which came over from TNT this year.