Skip Bayless received an outlandish amount of money to join Fox Sports.
From a reliable source: Fox Sports is paying Skip Bayless in neighborhood of $5.5 million per for four years, plus a $4M signing bonus.
ESPN was offering big money, too—a reported $4 million per year. Regardless of what he was offered when his contract was up this year, Bayless claims he didn't make nearly his worth during his time at ESPN. On a Recode Media podcast, Bayless said he was the most underpaid on-air talent at the Worldwide Leader.
“By what I was giving them, I was poorly paid," Bayless told host Peter Kafka. "I was the most underpaid on-air talent at ESPN for 12 years—that’s my opinion. Not in the end, they came around, but that went on for a long time.”
He received a huge contract for a reason, obviously. Even if you hate him, you can't deny that Bayless draws viewers. Together, he and Stephen A. Smith had a formula: passionately lay claim to super polarizing opinions, let other people blast you, then sit back and watch your ratings soar.
Max Kellerman took Bayless' place on First Take. Whether Bayless and his new Fox Sports co-host, Shannon Sharpe, can replicate the success of First Take remains to be seen.
First Take is crushing Undisputed in the ratings, but it's early, and this was to be expected. One show is on ESPN and the other is on Fox Sports 1.
