Skip Bayless reportedly leaving FS1’s ‘Undisputed’ later this summer, ESPN quickly says it's not interested
Skip Bayless is reportedly leaving FS1's "Undisputed" later this summer, the New York Post reports.
The 72-year-old Bayless has been with FS1 since 2016 after spending 12 years at ESPN. He reportedly signed a four-year, $32 million contract extension in 2021. According to the Post, it is expected that "Undisputed" will continue in some form after Bayless departs.
Bayless arrived at FS1 to co-host "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed," a debate show with pro football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe.
Sharpe left the show last summer for ESPN after his relationship with Bayless deteriorated on air amid arguments that turned increasingly contentious. A show based on debating the topics of the day in sports devolved into the pair yelling personal attacks at each other.
Various guest co-hosts, including Rachel Nichols, Paul Pierce, Richard Sherman, Keyshawn Johnson and Michael Irvin have been alongside Bayless since Sharpe's departure, but ratings have sagged. The show averaged 48,000 viewers this past spring, equaling the smallest audience since the show returned last September following Sharpe's exit.
What's next for Bayless? Whatever it is, it likely won't be retirement.
"I don’t even want to hear the word retirement because I associate it with death," Bayless said during a 2022 podcast episode. "It’s the first step towards death, is retirement, to me. ... I’m not ready to stop. It would be a waste for me to stop.”
It also apparently won't be his old stomping grounds of ESPN, as the network quickly released a statement to Front Office Sports' Michael McCarthy indicating the network won't be a suitor for Bayless' talents:
“We are set with the current First Take rotation, and wish Skip the best on his future endeavors,” an ESPN spokesman told FOS.
Now we'll see if anyone is actually interested in being Bayless' next stop.
