Stephen A. Smith campaigns to become next 'Wheel of Fortune' host

Longtime ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host Pat Sajak recently announced his retirement from the show, saying this would be his last season. Sajak has become a staple of one of the most iconic game shows in American history, but many are already wondering who will be his successor.

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith spoke about the Sajak news on a recent episode of his podcast ‘The Stephen A. Smith Show’, detailing what ‘Wheel of Fortune’ means to him personally.

“Pat Sajak, major major props to him,” Smith said. “He’s the host of the famous show ‘Wheel of Fortune’ that he’s been doing for 40 years. He’s announced that this will be his last season, he’s going to retire. He’s made that show a household [name], my mother loved ‘Wheel of Fortune’, love ‘Wheel of Fortune’. She really really did and so did I.”

But in classic Stephen A. fashion, Smith raised the stakes and switched the tone of his monologue, as he campaigned to be the next host of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ to follow in the footsteps of Sajak.

There’s no doubt that Smith is a busy man, but he’s willing to provide his services to the classic show on a part-time basis.

“I want to throw my name in the hat,” Smith said raising his tone. “I ain’t trying to give up my day job, I ain’t trying to give up my podcast. But I’ll tell you, if ‘Wheel of Fortune’ called to ask me to host the show for a couple of days I wouldn’t mind. I wouldn’t mind hosting that show while folks try to figure out what those letters mean and what it equates into.”

Smith is more than qualified for the job, starting his television career in 1999 and hosting ESPN’s ‘First Take’ for the last eleven years. He’s even dabbled in acting, making a handful of appearances on the ABC soap opera ‘General Hospital’.

There’s no doubt he would bring charisma and energy to the show, but he also suggested that he brings his own game-show hostess as well.

“Vanna White according to reports she thinks that she’s going to be on the way out the door too, but that’s not a negative Vanna, you’re synonymous with Pat Sajak. It’s okay,” Smith said. “If it were me hosting, I like Vanna a lot, but I wouldn’t mind Meagan Good turning those letters, Sanaa Lathan turning those letters, wouldn’t bother me. I think they’d get your ratings, I do. They’d have my ratings.”

Smith wouldn’t be the first person from the sports world to host a classic game show, as New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers hosted an episode of Jeopardy in April of 2021. But it will definitely be interesting to see if he can create some momentum around his campaign and potentially host ‘Wheel of Fortune’ in the near future.