Report: Skip Bayless to Leave 'Undisputed' on FS1

Bayless has co-hosted 'Undisputed' since 2016.

Skip Bayless is leaving FS1 after eight years at the network.

The long-time co-host of Undisputed will have his last show later this summer, according to the New York Post's Ryan Glasspiegel.

This marks the second summer in a row that an Undisputed co-host will depart the network. Bayless's longtime debate partner Shannon Sharpe left after the NBA Finals in 2023. He was followed by a rotating cast of co-hosts that never seemed to create the same energy as the Bayless-Sharpe tandem.

Glasspiegel reports Undisputed is expected to continue without Bayless.

Bayless left ESPN for FS1 in 2016 and found success with Undisputed. He had reportedly signed a four-year, $32 million deal to stay with Fox Sports in 2021. It was reported ESPN at the time that ESPN had interest in a reunion with Bayless.

Bayless joined ESPN full-time in 2004 as part of ESPN2's Cold Pizza. In 2007, the show was rebranded as First Take, where Bayless matched wits with several other panelists over the years until Stephen A. Smith arrived in 2012. That pairing launched the show's "Embrace the Debate" format that saw both men rise to prominence. Bayless's final episode of First Take came on June 21, 2016. Undisputed launched in September of that year.

There is no word yet on what Bayless's next move will be.


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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.