Shannon Sharpe has reportedly found his new home. And sadly, it's bad news for Stephen A. Smith. In a video posted by The Volume, the network founded by Colin Cowherd, Sharpe revealed that the video outlet would be his next port of call. The decision comes after a rollercoaster three months following Sharpe's surprise exit from FS1 and Undisputed. The frontrunner for the longest time appeared to be ESPN and more specifically, First Take. Stephen A. Smith had been incredibly eager to bring Sharpe on board. However, Sharpe has taken his talent elsewhere.
"I felt The Volume was the best place for me," Sharpe explained in a video published by the platform. An ecstatic Cowherd replied by saying he felt like he'd "landed Peyton Manning in Denver." Furthermore, Cowherd went on to say that he wanted to land Sharpe because of his commitment. Of course, the pair worked in the same building while they were both at FS1. However, it is worth noting that the announcement specifically appeared to be about Club Shay Shay. It is unclear if Sharpe will be doing other work elsewhere on top of that.
ESPN Suffers Major Blow Losing Sharpe
Of course, the biggest losers in all of this are ESPN. It's clear that their major talent layoffs at the end of June were in service of trying to land the free agent Sharpe. Additionally, the acquisition of the Pat McAfee brand was another move to try and convince Sharpe to join the network. They wanted to free up the capital to bring in him while also showing him that he wouldn't have to sacrifice his brand of content. Additionally, the talent they let go of is now coming back to bite them.
Keyshawn Johnson was one of the contract casualties at the network. He's now under contract with FS1 to work with Skip Bayless on Undisputed. ESPN made a massive play for Sharpe and it simply appears that they lost out. It's unlikely that First Take and Stephen A. Smith are going to suffer all that much from the loss. However, it is yet another sign that ESPN is not the sports behemoth that it once was. Smith is yet to respond to the news about Sharpe.
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