The two deans of embrace debate are reuniting. Skip Bayless will join Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take this Friday, Front Office Sports has learned.
The reunion of the two former TV partners is described as a “one-time show.” It will be the first time Bayless and Smith have appeared together on ESPN’s top-rated morning show since June 2016.
After signing a five-year, $100 million contract extension in 2025, Smith is ESPN’s highest-paid talent. But he’s nothing if not loyal to Bayless, whom he’s referred to as a “brother from another mother.”
Smith has also publicly praised Bayless for saving his TV career and setting him on the path to becoming ESPN’s biggest star.
In 2009, Smith was let go by ESPN after the cancellation of his talk show, Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. But Bayless went to bat for his friend, bringing him aboard First Take as a guest debater. In 2012, Smith joined Bayless on the show full-time. From there, First Take became one of ESPN’s biggest hits, inspiring a wave of copycat embrace-debate programming.
