Skip Bayless will reportedly need a new partner.
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee-turned-talk Shannon Sharpe has reached a buyout agreement with Fox Sports to end his seven-year run alongside Bayliss on Fox Sports 1’s “Skip Shannon: Undisputed.” According to Ryan Glaspiegel of the New York Post.
Sharp’s final show is expected after the NBA Finals concludes in June. He was also reported to be taking the “Club Shay Shay” podcast from Fox Sports with him.
The development ended what has been a successful partnership for Fox Sports since it poached Bayless from ESPN’s “First Take” in 2016 and hooked it up with Sharpe, who was previously an NFL commentator for CBS. ESPN2’s highly successful show, Sharpe provided a different voice-over to confront Bayless on Fox’s morning debate show.
With that said, that partnership has seen its highs and lows. As The Post noted, there was some public friction between Sharpe and Bayless in the fallout from the Damar Hamlin incident, in which the Buffalo Bills safety went into cardiac arrest during a game in January and had to be defibrillated on the field, then taken to the hospital. Like many others, Sharpe was troubled by seeing a young man die in the field. Apparently he was angry about it A widely criticized tweet from Bayless He asks if the NFL can really postpone the rest of Monday night’s game, given its timing and risks in the playoff race.
Sharpe missed the episode of “Undisputed” the next day, then complained about Baylis’ tweet and quarreled with the co-host after he intervened:
Less than half a year later, Sharp appears to be on his way out of Fox, while Bayliss is He remains on a four-year, $32 million contract, which he signed in March 2021. It is unclear where Sharpe goes from here.
Sharpe’s time with Fox has made him headlines outside of the Hamlin incident, such as an ugly confrontation with the father of Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies and a defamation lawsuit from Brett Favre over his response to allegations of misuse of welfare funds.
