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With Shannon Sharpe reportedly leaving FS1, co-host Skip Bayless is going to need a new partner…. again.
Pro Football Hall of Famer-turned-sports-analyst Shannon Sharpe has reached a contract buyout agreement with Fox Sports to end his seven-year run alongside Bayless on Fox Sports 1’s “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed,” according to the New York Post’s Ryan Glasspiegel.
Sharpe’s final show is reportedly expected to be after the NBA Finals end in June. He will also reportedly be taking his “Club Shay Shay” podcast with him from Fox Sports.
The development ends what had been a successful partnership for Fox Sports since it poached Bayless from ESPN’s “First Take’ in 2016 and paired him with Sharpe, previously an NFL commentator for CBS.
So what happened between Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless?
While a definitive answer has yet to become public, Sharpe and Bayless have long verbally sparred beyond the scope of sports, leaving Sharpe often in a defensive position and Bayless steadfast and uncompromising on his hot takes.
Many have speculated that the fallout of the Damar Hamlin incident may have been the impetus for Sharpe’s exodus, 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 disturbed by the sight of a young man nearly dying on the field. He was also apparently incensed by a widely criticized tweet from Bayless asking if the NFL could really postpone the rest of the Monday night game, given its timing and stakes in the playoff race.
Sharpe missed the following day’s “Undisputed” episode, then complained about Bayless’ tweet and bickered with the co-host after he interjected.
Less than half a year later, it appears that Sharpe is on his way out at Fox, while Bayless remains on the four-year, $32 million contract he signed in March 2021. It’s unclear where Sharpe goes from here.