The pressure is on.
At this point of their careers, Shannon Sharpe is as influential as Skip Bayless and one could say he has more clout in these social media streets.
There is no reason why he should be making half of what Skip’s makes when he is the one that is always going viral and has the successful podcast Club Shay Shay.
We will see what Fox decides to do.
Here are the details.
Fox Sports management has an important strategic decision to make before the next football season — and not just about NFL media rights.
Shannon Sharpe’s current contract expires after July 2021, sources said. The question now is whether Fox will finally compensate the three-time Super Bowl winner similarly to his controversial “Undisputed” co-host Skip Bayless.
Sharpe only earns about half of Bayless’ annual salary, said sources. The Pro Football Hall of Famer makes an estimated $3 million-plus annually vs. around $6 million for Bayless, the reigning enfant terrible of morning sports TV.
Yet FS1 has given Sharpe co-billing with Bayless since day one on “Skip & Shannon: Undisputed.”
At a time when the country is wrestling with racial equality, Fox has an “incredible opportunity to make a statement,” said a source. “Give Shannon Sharpe a contract that is equal pay for equal work.”
Giving Skip $6 million was insane in the first place, but that set the market.
Sources say that if Shannon was to move on, they would replace him with Emmanuel Acho, which in my opinion would be a terrible fit with Skip Bayless.
Flip the pages for the best of Shannon on the show.
