SI

Stephen A. Smith Becomes Presidential Debate Analyst in Midst of ESPN Contract Negotiations

The ESPN personality was a panelist on cable news for the Trump-Biden debate.

Jimmy Traina

Stephen A. Smith looks on during the All Star Celebrity Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in February.
Stephen A. Smith looks on during the All Star Celebrity Game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in February. / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

1. Stephen A. Smith likes to work. This is not news.

He’s on First Take five days a week. He appears on ESPN’s NBA Countdown. He has a podcast. He writes books. He’s basically churning out takes 24/7.

So one might think on Thursday night, after appearing on ESPN’s coverage of the NBA draft on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, that Stephen A. might want to go home, kick back and relax.

Nope.

Smith passed on a quiet night and instead worked. As a panelist. For the presidential debate.

Yes, after hosting First Take in the morning and then covering the second round of the NBA draft in the afternoon, Smith appeared on some channel called NewsNation to break down Biden vs. Trump.

I could be reading way too much into this, but when I saw this on Twitter, my first thought was “classic contract negotiation.”

Smith is currently in talks with ESPN about a new deal. Puck’s John Ourand reported that ESPN offered Smith $18 million per year for five years, but Smith reportedly wants $25 million per year.

James Andrew Miller told me on a recent SI Media With Jimmy Traina that he thinks it's far from a lock that Smith returns to ESPN, and that his agents could easily piece together different deals to get Smith his $25 million annually.

That’s where cable news comes in. Smith has done cable news appearances for a long time now. But to be on a panel following a presidential debate is another level. And while ESPN management has given talent more leeway to do things outside of ESPN, I’m gonna guess they weren’t exactly thrilled to see Smith’s gig Thursday night.

As for Smith’s work on NewsNation, I couldn’t bring myself to watch any clips, but people on Twitter certainly had thoughts.

2. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a column about NFL commissioner Roger Goodell throwing the NFL Network under the bus during testimony at an antitrust trial in which a group of NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers were suing the league for selling the package at an inflated price and restricting access to Sunday Ticket.

When I wrote the column, I didn’t think there was a chance the NFL would lose the case. I was wrong. My SI colleague Andrew Brandt has a column explaining everything about the ruling and where we go from here.

For those of you like me, who were Sunday Ticket subscribers and just want our money, this column from Pro Football Talk is a must-read.

3. Travis Kelce as a ref after he retires? I’m a fan of this idea.

4. I’m not proud, but I can’t get enough of the story about Bill Belichick, 72, dating a 24-year-old simply because it has led to some amazing sentences. Like this one:

5. I have a take. I don’t know if I’m getting soft in my old age or I’m just totally missing the plot here, but I don’t understand the venom and outrage directed at the Lakers and LeBron James after Los Angeles drafted Bronny. LeBron is one of the top two, five, 10, whatever best players of all time. He won a championship for the Lakers (although, I don’t think it counts because it came in the COVID-19 bubble season, but that’s another discussion). He’s still one of the best players in the NBA. If he wants to play with his son, even though the son had no business being drafted in the second round and probably has no business in the NBA, is that really such a horrible thing? Is it really something to generate such anger? I think it’s kinda cool that a father and son get to play together in the NBA. Maybe I’m way off here, but that’s my take.

6. A brand-new episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina dropped this week and it features a conversation with Pablo Torre, who hosts the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast for Meadowlark Media.

Torre explains how the idea for his unique podcast came about, how he picks his topics, what his goal is with the podcast, what it's like to work for Dan Le Batard and how he was able to stay with ESPN on a part-time basis while he works full time for another company.

Torre also reveals his most memorable podcast episode, responds to various pitches for podcast ideas from Jimmy and the two reminisce about working at Sports Illustrated together.

Following Torre, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins me for our weekly "Traina Thoughts" segment. This week's topics include JJ Redick upsetting some people by using the f-word at his Lakers' introductory news conference, protesters interrupting sporting events and Travis Kelce joining Taylor Swift on stage on the Eras Tour. The segment finishes with a reading of the podcast's Apple reviews for June.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

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

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Actor Gary Busey turns 79 on Saturday, so this is a good time to remind you that Busey, along with Meatloaf, gave us one of, if not, the greatest reality television scene of all time.

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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