Report: Skip Bayless Leaving ‘Undisputed’; What’s Next For the FS1 Icon?

Skip Bayless’ eight-year run as the co-host of Fox Sports 1’s “Undisputed” is coming to an end, according to the New York Post.

Bayless left ESPN’s First Take for FS1 in 2016 and teamed with Shannon Sharpe on “Undisputed,” a sports talk/debate show, for the program’s first seven years. Sharpe left the show after the NBA Finals last year.

Since then, Bayless has hosted the program with a rotating team of guest panelists. According to the Post, he’ll vacate that seat “later this summer,” though neither he nor Fox Sports would confirm the news.

Bayless, 72, is a veteran of sports journalism. In 2004 he transitioned from his role as a newspaper columnist into a full-time on-air personality at ESPN. He gained national prominence as a verbal sparring partner opposite Stephen A. Smith on First Take in 2007.

Skip and Shannon: Undisputed debuted on FS1 on Sept. 6, 2016, as Bayless brought along his trademark unapologetic style of sports commentary from ESPN to Fox’s fledging all-sports network.

In March 2021, the Post reported that Bayless had signed a new four-year, $32 million contract with Fox that placed him in a rare salary range for a sports broadcaster. Will Bayless remain at Fox in a different capacity through the end of his contract, or move on to a new pasture?

From a salary perspective, it’s unclear whether Bayless will or can sign a more lucrative contract elsewhere, as television ratings have fallen amid the cord-cutting trend over the last decade. ESPN laid off about 20 of its top on-air presenters just last summer.

In Feb. 2024, Awful Announcing hinted at the possibly diminishing ratings of Undisputed:

Earlier this month, while celebrating record months for nearly all of its daytime lineup, Fox Sports 1 left Undisputed viewership numbers out of its news release entirely. Even during the peak of the NFL postseason last month, Undisputed struggled to top 100,000 viewers.

On the other hand, Nightcap, the YouTube show produced by former Undisputed cohost Shannon Sharpe, surpassed the FS1 morning program’s viewership during a post-Super Bowl livestream. Even the audience for Bayless’ own self-titled podcast has cratered since a big launch.

While the next move for Bayless is unclear, he’s been in the sports media game for long enough that wherever he lands will attract attention. And if this is the end of his career in the public eye, perhaps Bayless can find time to wish LeBron James well in his 22nd season.