Stephen A. Smith’s $100M ESPN Deal Signals a Shift

The Stephen A. Smith record-breaking five-year, $100 million contract, underscores a seismic shift in media: sports personalities, not news anchors, are now the marquee faces of corporate giants.

In the 1980s and ’90s, network anchors like Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, and the late Peter Jennings were the gold standard, embodying credibility and gravitas for their broadcasters. Today, it’s sports figures like Smith, Charles Barkley, Pat McAfee, Cris Collinsworth, Troy Aikman, Tony Romo, Tom Brady, and Al Michaels who define brands like Disney/ESPN, NBC, Fox, Amazon Prime Video, and TNT.

Front Office Sports reports these sports stars command blockbuster salaries and wield influence far beyond the field, spilling into politics and pop culture. Smith, for instance, opines on national issues across CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and NewsNation, with chatter growing about a potential 2028 Democratic presidential run. Later this month, he’ll join Bill O’Reilly and Chris Cuomo for a “Three Americans Live” special. Meanwhile, Mike Tirico’s standout coverage of the Paris Olympics for NBC supercharged the Olympic brand’s global clout.

Key hires like ESPN poaching Troy Aikman and Joe Buck from Fox for Monday Night Football and Amazon tapping Kirk Herbstreit and Michaels for Thursday Night Football rank among the most transformative media moves—not just in sports. Aikman and Buck vaulted ESPN’s NFL booth from lackluster to elite, while Herbstreit and Michaels’ big-game pedigree instantly elevated Prime’s TNF to rival legacy networks.

Network news, once the pinnacle of glamour, is faltering. ABC News renewed George Stephanopoulos, but the Good Morning America co-anchor reportedly took a pay cut, per the New York Post. Norah O’Donnell exited CBS Evening News after five years, once Walter Cronkite’s domain. MSNBC axed Joy Reid’s 7 p.m. slot in February, Chuck Todd left Meet the Press, and veterans like Hoda Kotb (NBC), Neil Cavuto (Fox News), and CNN’s Jim Acosta, Don Lemon, and Chris Wallace parted ways with their networks. With Lester Holt stepping down from NBC Nightly News, Mediate’s managing editor Joe DePaolo sees the end of an era for iconic anchors.

What’s driving this? Sports now reign supreme, claiming 85 of 2024’s top 100 telecasts (Nielsen) despite a presidential election’s usual drag on ratings. Meanwhile, trust in mass media has cratered to a 50-year low, with Gallup finding just 31% of Americans have “great” trust in it, while 36% have none, per The Hill.