ESPN
Two of ESPN’s most notable personalities apparently came to serious blows in recent weeks as reports indicate that Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee got into a heated phone call that resulted in McAfee calling Smith a “mother——”.
The New York Post says that the “explosive” argument, which happened “several weeks ago”, stemmed from “creative differences involving a yet-to-be-announced project that Smith is executive producing through his own production company.”
The unnamed project is believed to ultimately air on ESPN. The argument was so intense, in fact, that Smtih reportedly decided to ban McAfee from appearing on First Take.
However, when reached for comment, both McAfee and Smith denied having any animosity toward each other, with Smith saying there is no First Take ban on McAfee, who takes over ESPN’s airwaves when Smith’s show ends at Noon.
In a text message, McAfee told The Post that he has “nothing but love for Stephen A.” and that he appeared on First Take on Tuesdays during the NFL season, and he hopes to do the same this year.
Smith, on the other hand, sent The Post a lengthy email regarding their reporting, saying that he and McAfee have “no issue.”
“Pat McAfee and I have no issue and the notion that he’d be banned from ‘First Take’ is B.S. We are No.1 and he has absolutely contributed to us remaining No.1. McAfee was asked to come on each Tuesday through the Super Bowl and he did just that, kicking ass each time he came on the air,” Smith’s email says.
“If McAfee wants to be on First Take next season, he will be on First Take. I love winners and McAFee has proven he wins — which helps ME win. I don’t know how many times I have to tell folks that he’s trail-blazed a path into a new era for so many of us,” Smith said.
The longtime ESPN personality ended his email with a sentence that can be truly heard in his voice when you read it, as he signed off by saying:
“I sincerely hope that I will not have to repeat myself on this nonsense again!”
A rift between Smith and McAfee is perhaps the last thing that ESPN wants as the pair are arguably the network’s two most important talents. They’re certainly the two most expensive.
In 2023, ESPN bought McAfee’s radio show for $85 million on a five-year contract. Smith, meanwhile, reportedly earns $12 million per year and is set to have his current contract expire this year.
That contract, according to longtime radio host and former ESPN employee Dan Le Batard, is going to “shake the industry”, as he believes Smith now sees himself “with Tom Brady and Peyton Manning in the sphere of, ‘I’m as big a star in sports right now as there is.'”
Both Smith’s First Take and McAfee’s The Pat McAfee Show are stalwarts in ESPN’s current line-up of programming, as they both air five-days-a-week and often take their shows on the road. First Take airs from 10 a.m. EST to Noon EST and is then followed by The Pat McAfee Show