There’s been no shortage of drama involving Undisputed co-hosts Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless in recent months. That drama is coming to an end very soon.
According to The NY Post’s Ryan Glasspiegel, Sharpe and Fox Sports have agreed to a buyout agreement and the NFL Hall of Famer will leave FS1’s Undisputed “after the 2023 NBA Finals conclude in June.”
Glasspiegel also reports that Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast will be leaving Fox Sports as well.
While the basis of their job involves arguing with one another, there have been several instances in recent months that seem to imply a fractured relationship between Sharpe and Bayless. Most infamously. after Bayless caught heat for an ill-advised tweet about Damar Hamlin, Sharpe no-showed the following day, raising speculation about his future with the show. The two got into a heated argument over the tweet and Bayless’s insistence he did nothing wrong.
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The duo has had several arguments since then that seemed to veer into a personal territory and beyond the entertaining purpose of Unidsputed. Sharpe has admitted that he and Bayless aren’t exactly friends once the cameras turn off and the two had to have a private conversation in order to make things copacetic.
Sharpe has also had to deal with other issues outside of the Undisputed studio recently. He’s currently being sued by Brett Favre for defamation and was involved in a fracas with Memphis Grizzlies players during a game in Los Angeles.
The most obvious question now is who will replace Sharpe in the chair across from Bayless. The show doesn’t have a dependable roster of rotating hosts like First Take. Plus, Bayless likely gets a say in who ends up taking that spot.
Meanwhile, while it sounds like Sharpe will continue to do his podcast, we’ll have to wait and see if this means he’ll end up back on television with another network, or if this is a case of wanting to take a step back, at least for a while.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.