Stephen A. Smith is best known for his appearances on ESPN as a basketball analyst and as a host for their debate show “First Take.” Smith is famous for his extensive vocabulary and long rants while on the show. Smith was hired by ESPN in 2003 and has been present in the sports media world ever since.
He is one of the most polarizing sports talk pundits and has stirred up controversy with some of his statements and the fight he picked with Kevin Durant.
Such a recognizable face with YouTube ready rants must be worth a ton of money, right? Let’s take a look.
Stephen A. Smith Net Worth as of 2019: $20 Million
On Wednesday, April 3, Stephen A. Smith became the highest paid talent in the history of ESPN when he signed a contract with a reported 8 to 10 million dollars per year.
1990-2000
Smith’s early career involved writing for local newspapers such as The Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer. He started off on general assignment and covering beats for local Philadelphia college teams before moving his way up to general sports columnist in 2003. Smith was promoted 9 times in his 13 years at the Inquirer and was hired by ESPN in 2003.
2010-2014
Smith has been a staple on ESPN programming for the past decade, especially in New York. He had a radio show that was simulcast nationally on ESPN, and he has been an NBA analyst and commentator for the past few years. He had a brief hiatus from ESPN in 2009 following a contract dispute and he worked as a FOX Sports contributor.
Smith returned to ESPN in 2011 and “First Take” began in 2012. He briefly has a show on Sirius XM Satellite radio but has since returned to the ESPN radio platform.
2015-2017
Smith is currently on television every weekday as a host on “First Take” and on the radio for ESPN stations in New York, Los Angeles and Sirius XM ESPN. His most recent contract was signed in 2015 for between $3.1 and $3.5 million a year.
2018
Appearing on cable news for a long time, Steven A. Smith thinks ESPN personalities should stick to covering only sports-related broadcasts instead of expanding their genre.
2019
On Wednesday, April 3, it was announced that Stephen A. Smith would be signing a contract with ESPN worth 8 to 10 million dollars per year. The new contract makes Smith the highest paid on-air talent in the history of the network.
