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Chris ‘Mad Dog’ Russo Weighs In on Stephen A. Smith’s Future at ESPN

Russo says it makes sense for his “First Take” partner to re-sign with the four-letter network.

Jimmy Traina

Smith’s (left) contract negotiations have led to some speculation over his future.
Smith’s (left) contract negotiations have led to some speculation over his future. / ESPN

1. Stephen A. Smith’s contract with ESPN expires next July. All reports indicate that the First Take host wants a monster contract to remain with the World Wide Leader.

If Smith doesn’t get the money he wants from ESPN, could he bolt the network for a deal elsewhere?

I asked Smith’s First Take partner and SiriusXM host, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, that question on this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast.

“I try not to get too involved with it,” Russo said on the podcast. “I ask for an occasional recap. And when I see stories on Stevie—Hollywood Reporter just did a big one, Wall Street Journal did one—I ask, ‘Is this accurate?’ Sometimes he tells me and sometimes he doesn’t. Overall, I would be shocked if he left.”

Russo continued, “I think the one thing that he may not want to be pigeonholed doing sports. He wants to go out there and do a lot of different things; that’s why the podcast comes in handy, and he may not want to go in there every day for five days doing lists for quarterbacks and all that. But I would be absolutely floored [if Smith left ESPN]."

Russo cited the power of ESPN as the main reason Smith should remain with the network.

“Everything for him, to me, stems from ESPN,” said Russo. “He’s on there every day for two hours, he gets great ratings, it’s his show, he’s the boss. He’s a great entertainer. He knows how to deliver the goods. He knows how to produce an opinion. And I think that everything he does is sort of fueled by that—General Hospital, podcast, everything else. And I think leaving that would be tricky. I think on the other side, if you’re ESPN, you’ve built your whole platform on daytime television, plus the NBA. You love the NBA. Who’s the best NBA guy out there? You got the football, you got Stephen A. That show is a huge show. You got all the people that go through that show whether it’s Marcus Spears or Ryan Clark or Domonique Foxworth, and it’s all because of that show. And if he’s not there, that’s not gonna be the same. So they need him, too. What are they gonna do? Quibble over a couple of million dollars a year?

“I haven’t spoken to him in three weeks, maybe,” added Russo. “I would be shocked, SHOCKED if this doesn’t—now, they may take it to the last day—but I would be shocked [if Smith left ESPN].”

When asked about the new media landscape that features streaming services with unlimited money, Russo was steadfast that ESPN is still the place for Smith.

“It won’t have the notoriety, though, maybe, if he leaves ESPN,” said Russo.

“They’re still the biggest one. More people will watch that than will put it on Peacock to watch it on that, or Netflix or something like that. Stevie is too smart. He understands, I’m assuming, the power of ESPN. They have the NBA. They got the Finals. They’re the No. 1 partner for the NBA and that’s his favorite sport. He loves the personalities in the NBA. He leaves ESPN, he loses a little of that. He’s too bright not to understand that. I would think he’d stay.”

Other topics discussed with Russo during the podcast include his new three-year contract extension with SiriusXM, the challenge of doing a sports talk show in the dead of summer, his most memorable First Take moment, having a son going into sports talk radio, and much more.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel

2. On Sunday, Aug. 25, MLB Network will debut a new documentary, One of a Kind, which will profile Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux.

This preview clip of Maddux and Barry Bonds talking about one of their matchups, will hook you in if you’re a baseball fan.

3. Funny how this worked out. As we told you in this column recently, DraftKings announced it was going to charge an extra tax for customers in certain states.

The earlier this week, FanDuel revealed it would not follow suit and had no plans to hit customers with a similar tax.

Right after FanDuel said that, DraftKings announced it changed its mind and wouldn't be instituting the extra tax.

4. Tom Brady appears to be getting into the content game. The future Hall of Famer has launched a YouTube channel and his first video is a nine-minute recap of the 72 hours he spent in Paris at the Summer Olympics.

5. First, this is a great call by the YES Network’s Ryan Ruocco on Aaron Judge’s 300th career home run last night.

Second, it’s not just that Judge is the fastest player ever to reach the 300-home run plateau. It’s that he did it in 955 games, 132 games fewer than Ralph Kiner (1,087 games), who previously had the record.

6. This was a pretty great comparison by Aaron Rodgers, who spoke about his trip to Egypt with WFAN’s Boomer & Gio on Tuesday.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Today is Ben Affleck’s 52nd birthday. Those of us in the sports world don’t talk enough about what a train wreck Affleck was on Bill Simmons’s old HBO show.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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