Skip Bayless Returns to ESPN’s ‘First Take’ for Reunion with Stephen A. Smith
*Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless built one of sports television’s most electric partnerships, and for one day at least, that era makes a comeback. Bayless is set to appear on ESPN’s “First Take” this Friday (May 8), marking the first time the two have shared the show’s set since June 2016, according to Front […] The post Skip Bayless Returns to ESPN’s ‘First Take’ for Reunion with Stephen A. Smith appeared first on EURweb | Black News, Culture, Entertainment & More.
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*Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless built one of sports television’s most electric partnerships, and for one day at least, that era makes a comeback.
Bayless is set to appear on ESPN’s “First Take” this Friday (May 8), marking the first time the two have shared the show’s set since June 2016, according to Front Office Sports. The visit is being billed as a “one-time show.”
“CAN’T WAIT FOR FRIDAY,” Bayless wrote on X.
The reunion carries real weight given the history between the two men. After ESPN cancelled “Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith” in 2009, it was Bayless who lobbied to bring Smith back to the network as a guest debater on “First Take.” Smith joined the show full-time in 2012, and together they turned it into one of ESPN’s top-rated programs.
Smith is now ESPN’s highest-paid talent following a five-year, $100 million contract extension signed in 2025. He has never been shy about the debt he feels he owes his former partner, and credited Bayless with setting his career on its current trajectory.
“I would not be on ‘First Take’ without Skip Bayless,” Smith said in 2021, per USA Today. “I’m on ‘First Take’ because Skip Bayless brought me to ‘First Take.’ And at that particular moment in time, Skip Bayless was ‘First Take.’ So whatever I’ve achieved in my career since I’ve been on ‘First Take’ is a byproduct of Skip Bayless.
Bayless echoed that mutual admiration on his podcast earlier this year. “No one has ever quite matched the chemistry that maybe God above gave us,” he said in February. “Can’t teach it, or coach it. It just worked, and it was entertaining, and enlightening. It was just fun.”
Bayless left ESPN in August 2016 to launch “Undisputed” on FS1 alongside Shannon Sharpe. That pairing dissolved in 2023, and the show was cancelled the following year. He currently hosts content on his YouTube channel and cohosts “The Arena: Gridiron” with Gilbert Arenas.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Shannon Sharpe Has Classy Response to Skip Bayless Leaving ‘Undisputed’ | Watch
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The post Skip Bayless Returns to ESPN’s ‘First Take’ for Reunion with Stephen A. Smith appeared first on EURweb | Black News, Culture, Entertainment & More.
