Stephen A. Smith addresses relationship with Pat McAfee: ‘He thought I did something I didn’t do’

Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee are two of the most important daytime voices on ESPN, and a lot has been implied about their relationship.

Smith recently joined In Depth with Graham Bensinger for an extensive conversation. During the interview, Smith repeated his earlier praise of McAfee for raising the salary ceiling at ESPN, which ultimately paved the way for the First Take host to land his $100 million deal.

Throughout McAfee’s tenure at ESPN, Smith has maintained his respect for the former NFL punter’s ability to build, own, and sell his show. But contract negotiations aside, Bensinger noted the frequent rumblings that Smith and McAfee do not get along. And after Smith denied the rumors, Bensinger pressed the issue, citing previous headlines about a heated confrontation, questioning whether there was ever a time when the two pillars of ESPN’s daytime programming were feuding.

“That’s not true,” Smith insisted. We had a difference of opinion about something. He thought I did something that I didn’t do. Somebody else had done it. So, once that stuff was clarified, we were absolutely fine, and we’ve been fine.”

Publicly, McAfee and Smith may have both praised each other as content creators and contract negotiators, but their relationship hasn’t been without run-ins. As referenced, they were reportedly involved in an “explosive” off-air argument in 2024, stemming from creative differences over a project Smith was producing. It was widely assumed that the argument concerned Smith’s three-part documentary Up for Debate, which was released on ESPN+ almost two years ago.

Both ESPN stars have downplayed any tension between them and continue to avoid giving any details about the dispute, just as Smith did with Bensinger. But it’s worth noting that McAfee made weekly appearances on First Take during his first year at ESPN. And in the wake of their reported explosive confrontation, McAfee has not appeared on First Take again.