Shannon Sharpe leaving FS1's 'Undisputed'
Shannon Sharpe’s partnership with Skip Bayless is coming to a conclusion soon.
Sharpe and Fox Sports, the parent company of FS1, which airs “Undisputed,” have reached a buyout agreement, sources tell The Post.
Sharpe’s final show is expected to be after the 2023 NBA Finals conclude in June.
Sharpe’s popular “Club Shay Shay” podcast, which draws a big audience on social media and YouTube, will also be leaving Fox Sports, a source said.
There was public friction between Sharpe and Bayless on the show after Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field in a Week 17 game against the Bengals.
Bayless, in a stream-of-conscious tweet sent after Hamlin had collapsed but before the rest of the game had been canceled, wrote, “No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”
Shannon Sharpe’s breakup with Fox Sports 1’s ‘Undisputed’ is imminent. Fox Sports
Sharpe stayed home from “Undisputed” the following morning; when he returned a day later, he said that he had wished Bayless would take the tweet down, while Bayless said that he stood by it.
“I cannot even get through a monologue without you interrupting me,” Sharpe said.
The two then had disagreement on if the FS1 bosses wanted Bayless to offer an explanation for the tweet.
At that time, there were a number of armchair observers, including former FS1 host Marcellus Wiley, who predicted the duo were headed for a breakup.
“This is primal. This is two alphas fighting for territory,” Wiley said on Instagram. “This is about power. Because that dynamic of power on that show has shifted, whether it’s real or imagined. Right now, we’re all seeing that battle for it. Let’s see who comes out undisputed.”
People close to Sharpe said privately that he did not seek to be the unquestioned leader on the show, but wanted to be an equal with Bayless in the program’s topic selection.
Shannon Sharpe NBAE via Getty Images
Another element that seemed to bleed over between the two was that Sharpe is close with LeBron James, whose performance Bayless has been a hard grader of over the years.
Sharpe, 54, was the unquestioned choice to join as Bayless’ cohost on “Undisputed” after Bayless left his ESPN “First Take” partnership with Stephen A. Smith to join FS1 in 2016.
Sharpe had filled in for Smith in debating Bayless on the program, and the two had dynamic chemistry, plus, in what was a rarity, the “First Take” viewership numbers did not fall off with one of the hosts off the set.
Sharpe and co-host Skip Bayless have seemingly been at odds for months.
Sharpe is a three-time Super Bowl champion, a four-time All-Pro and enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Sharpe, Bayless and a Fox Sports spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
It is unclear at this time what FS1 will do to replace Sharpe on the show.
Source: New York Post
