Matt Barnes has carved out quite the career in NBA media outside of traditional outlets like his former employer ESPN. But the 14-year NBA veteran thinks that a lucrative contract for his former colleague Stephen A. Smith could help set the market for other prominent media personalities.
After stints at both ESPN and Fox following his playing career, Barnes went on to form his own production company All The Smoke Productions, which produces the popular All The Smoke podcast.
In an interview with Front Office Sports, Barnes discussed his thoughts on the large contracts some top media talent are receiving. “Stephen A. Smith is one of the biggest personalities and we’re hearing talks that he possibly could get a $100 million contract as a media member,” Barnes suggested before acknowledging that more money for Smith could mean more money for talent more generally. “There’s still friendly competition on this side of the game as well because as the money gets bigger for the game, that means the money is going to get bigger for the media.”
Barnes finds himself in a unique position within sports media, having founded a company that has taken off. Recent history suggests that the industry’s biggest names can command huge money. Look no further than Tom Brady, Pat McAfee, Joe Buck, and Troy Aikman.
However, that can also mean there’s less money for sports media’s “middle class.” ESPN underwent massive talent layoffs last summer that included prominent names like Suzy Kolber, Jeff Van Gundy, and Mark Jackson. Just last week, ESPN let go of NBA reporter Zach Lowe. Inherently, when you pay some talent more, there is less to go around elsewhere. And while none of these talent decisions are directly related to each other, they collectively represent a shift in strategy.
So Barnes is correct in his assessment that lucrative contracts are out there, though the reality for the upper echelon may differ greatly from those outside of the most popular figures in sports media.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.