Stephen A. Smith has made an effort to showcase his versatility in recent years, and that theme is continuing with the latest role he is taking on at ESPN.
Smith told Renee Washington of Front Office Sports on Tuesday that he will make at least three appearances on ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” — the pregame show to “Monday Night Football” — this season. The first will be in Week 3 when the Baltimore Ravens host the Detroit Lions.
Smith will join a cast that has included Scott Van Pelt, Ryan Clark, Jason Kelce, Marcus Spears, Adam Schefter and Michelle Beisner-Buck through the first two weeks of the 2025 season. While the plan for now is for Smith to appear on “Monday Night Countdown” three times, he left the door open for the role to expand.
“Those are just the three I know about. Knowing them at ESPN, they’ll want more,” said Smith. “They’ll certainly want more of me on ‘NBA Countdown.’ And so who knows? I mean, I’m doing ‘First Take.’ But it’s ESPN. They know whatever they need me for … it doesn’t matter. Whatever’s going to help make the network successful. Jimmy Pitaro, Burke Magnus, Dave Roberts, Mike McQuade. They know me. They know I’ll do whatever they ask.”
Smith signed a new five-year, $105 million contract with ESPN earlier this year. The deal calls for him to continue to host “First Take,” but Smith is not obligated to make as many appearances across other network shows. That has given him more freedom to focus on his own brand and do more political commentary, which has also been a profitable venture for the 57-year-old.
Though many associate Smith with the NBA, he is now ESPN’s biggest on-air personality and does not focus on one specific sport. Fans might find it unusual to see Smith on “Monday Night Countdown,” but the network’s highest-paid personality is going where executives feel he can elevate their coverage.
