Dan Le Batard believes Stephen A. Smith is following a blueprint Pat McAfee figured out years ago.
Speaking on his show, the former ESPN host said both personalities understand the value of not putting all their eggs in one basket, especially when that basket is a giant corporation that can drop you whenever it wants.
Dan Le Batard Says Stephen A. Smith Is Following Pat McAfee’s Playbook
“The game plan, just so you understand what’s happening in these machinations, is Stephen A. uses Disney and ESPN now as his second job because he figured out what McAfee already figured out, which is I got to build the other thing,” Le Batard explained.
Le Batard can point to visible evidence to back up his claims. “The Pat McAfee Show” was already big in its pre-ESPN days, and it even managed to secure a massive deal with FanDuel.
According to talkSPORT, McAfee still owns the program, while the agreement with ESPN is a licensing agreement. He now has his own digital media company (Pat McAfee Inc.) and is also about to drop an album.
Smith, on the other hand, has expanded Straight Shooter Media into a growing production company. He now has two shows on SiriusXM, besides his regular YouTube presence.
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He brought on former “Entertainment Tonight” co-host Kevin Frazier to help grow the operation. While ESPN remains his primary employer, Smith is investing in a media business he controls.
Le Batard also pointed to who’s steering the ship: Mark Shapiro, Smith’s longtime agent, who used to run programming at ESPN and later became CEO of Six Flags. Shapiro is now president and COO of TKO Group Holdings, and it was Shapiro who reportedly negotiated Smith’s five-year, $100 million-plus deal with ESPN last year.
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Le Batard’s point gained fresh relevance this week. On Monday, ESPN fired NFL analyst Ryan Clark in the middle of a live “NFL Live” broadcast, part of a bigger wave of layoffs at Disney tied to ESPN’s new partnership with the NFL. Clark didn’t even get to finish the show.
Smith, by his own admission, wasn’t happy about it. He revealed that ESPN executives sought his input before deciding to part ways with Clark.
Smith said he strongly opposed the move, calling Clark “my brother” and “arguably the best NFL analyst in America.” But the decision went through anyway. “I don’t get to make those decisions,” Smith admitted. “I don’t get to ignore the fiscal and financial circumstances.”
That’s the argument Le Batard was making. Smith may be ESPN’s biggest personality and have the ear of network executives, but even he couldn’t stop Clark’s exit. To Le Batard, it was another reminder that no one is immune when corporate decisions take over.
