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Shannon Sharpe says joining Stephen A. Smith, ESPN would be 'great'

profilephotocropby:Suzanne Halliburton•07/21/23•

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shannon sharpe
Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Stephen A Smith is teasing something major during his Friday afternoon show as rumors flourished that Shannon Sharpe would be joining him on ESPN.

So here’s the tweet that has sports fans on social media all abuzz.

Smith reshared an earlier tweet, teasing a “big, big episode.”

“Look for me on Friday, Folks! I’ll be addressing all the things I need to address. Back on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” podcast on Friday — then LIVE on First Take Monday morning. See y’all in a minute. Buckle Up!!!”

Front Office Sports already reported this week that Shannon Sharpe will be joining Stephen A Smith on ESPN’s First Take. It’s an intriguing match up. Sharpe recently left his co-host job on Undisputed. He worked with Skip Bayless on FS1 for seven years. And Smith and Bayless used to be show partners.

“If I’m on there this fall, that’ll be great,” Sharpe said earlier this week before he played in DJ Khaled’s We The Best Golf Classic in Miami.

“But if I’m not, I still have a platform where people can find me.”

Sharpe was referring to his own weekly podcast called “Club Shay Shay.” The show has more than 1.2 million followers on Youtube. It’s far more popular than either Undisputed and First Take.

Meanwhile, Stephen A Smith’s tweet about a big announcement prompted Shannon Sharpe to add to the chatter. He quote tweeted Smith, adding “Whatcha addressing on Fri? I’ve got some free time so feel free 2 FT me b4 my meetings.” In other words, Sharpe was asking for Smith to get in touch. And Smith had tweeted in response to a report that Sharpe was joining the show.

Will Shannon Sharpe be joining Stephen A Smith (pictured) on First Take? (Tori Lynn Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK)

If Sharpe does join a rotating cast of debaters on First Take, he’d nearly triple his audience from Undisputed. First Take averages about 421,000 daily viewers. Undisputed has an audience of 154,000.

But Shannon Sharpe also might not be serious about any Stephen A Smith news. He said his daughter told him he was trending. So he belly flopped into the speculative fun.

“I found out why I was trending. I guess some people know more than what I know” Sharpe told USA Today. “That was my first time hearing about it.

“Since I found out I was trending for that, I went along and played with Stephen A., because he’s going to make an announcement on Friday. I was like ‘OK, I want to hear the announcement you’re going to make.’”