Skip Bayless speaks out about Shannon Sharpe after 'Undisputed' exit

It’s difficult to imagine Skip Bayless generously handing out compliments to anybody but Michael Jordan. Yet, the 71-year-old sports analysts had nothing but good things to say about his recently departed co-host on a recent episode of his Fox Sports podcast, “The Skip Bayless Show.”

On Tuesday, Shannon Sharpe signed off from “Undisputed” for the final time. Sharpe partnered with Bayless on the sports debate show for seven years. However, On May 31, it was announced Sharpe and Fox Sports had reached a buyout, allowing Sharpe to move on.

Bayless gave props to his long-time co-star.

“Shannon prepared hard, and on-air, Shannon competed even harder. Shannon never took a sick day. Shannon was never, ever late. You say, ‘Oh that’s no big deal.’ No, it’s a huge deal to me. Being prepared and on time is the mortar of a successful TV show. Shannon always prepared, always on time, day after day after day,” Bayless said.

The pair certainly competed, occasionally to a fault. Bayless and Sharpe had a blowout in in January after Sharpe took exception to Bayless’ hardened approach toward Damar Hamlin’s injury. Just last month, Sharpe liked a tweet that seemingly took a shot at Bayless.

Despite the two’s differences, Bayless appreciated Sharpe’s constant effort, otherwise the explosive personality could’ve never spent the time with him he did.

“What a run we had together, nearly seven years’ worth. That’s nearly 4,300 live, on-air hours sitting across from each other at that debate desk,” Bayless said. “When I shared that figure with my wife, Ernestine, her response was, ‘You spent more time with him than you spent with me.’ Well, not exactly true. But it did sometimes feel that way. Which meant that in a way, Shannon and I were kind of a married couple on TV.”

Shannon Sharpe shares a moment with Skip Bayless on his final episode of Undisputed. 🙏

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— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) June 13, 2023

The pair’s “divorce” was full of tears. On Tuesday, Sharpe delivered a teary-eyed farewell to Bayless while thanking him for giving him a chance. Bayless acknowledged the decision to hire Sharpe during his recent podcast episode.

“In our first staff meeting, Shannon told the group he wanted to become the first ex-athlete to prove that he could talk about all sports on TV, not just the one he played. And did Shannon ever prove that,” Bayless recalled.

While Bayless plans to continue his time on “Undisputed,” Sharpe’s future is not yet known. Although, the NFL Hall of Famer did hint at exciting opportunities on Twitter earlier this month.

“Stay tuned for the seeds I’m planting,” Sharpe wrote.