Stephen A. Smith is one of ESPN's most important employees. Overall, he has been carrying the network on his back ever since Skip Bayless left in 2016. In fact, Smith has one of the highest salaries in the network. He makes about $12 million per year, which is simply astronomical. However, when you consider the ratings that he brings to the table, you can see why he is making so much. Either way, he is a valuable member of the network that ESPN would rather not lose.
Unfortunately, ESPN is going to be the victim of job cuts very soon. The media landscape is always changing, and as it turns out, budget cuts are frequent. Consequently, there are hundreds of ESPN employees who could very well get the boot. According to Front Office Sports, Disney is cutting 7,000 jobs. Although there is no timeline for these cuts, they could be imminent. On his podcast Know Mercy, Stephen A. spoke about the situation and even joked that even he could be on the way out.
Stephen A. Speaks
“Have you all been paying attention to the business landscape? Disney itself announced that over 7,000 employees are going to be let go,” Smith said. “ESPN is under the Disney umbrella. They’re going to have cuts coming. Hell, for all I know, I might be one of them. Now I doubt that. But it’s possible. No one knows.” At this point, it is very unlikely that they let Smith go. He is their A-list star, and it would be wild if they just decided to cut his post.
That said, it will be interesting to see who ESPN decides to lay off. There are plenty of talented individuals in the network and it would suck to see a lot of them go. However, that is the nature of the business world. There is always a ton of turnover, and that will not change anytime soon. Let us know your favorite ESPN personalities, in the comments below. Additionally, stay tuned to HNHH for the latest news and updates from around the sports world.
[Via]