Sports analyst Skip Bayless’ time with FS1's ‘Undisputed’ has ended. After hosting the nationally televised sports show for eight years, the veteran sports analyst said Friday’s show was his final episode and that he’s leaving the network, Fox Sports, altogether in a post on his X, formerly known as Twitter, page.
“Today was my last show on Undisputed. I’m leaving FS1,” Bayless wrote. “I’ve been planning to pursue other opportunities for several months. I had a great 8-year run with a lot of great people at FOX, but now I’m excited for what’s coming up. Stay tuned.”
‘Undisputed’ still recovering from losing Shannon Sharpe
Skip Bayless’ exit was imminent, according to the New Post’s Ryan Glasspiegel, whose sources revealed, in July, of Fox Sports’ plans to part ways with the 72-year-old announcer due to poor ratings from ‘Undisputed,’ which took a significant dip shortly after Skip’s former co-host, Shannon Sharpe, left the show. Since then, Sharpe has found success by joining ESPN’s Stephen A Smith on the four-lettered network’s ‘First Take’ and his podcast, ‘Club Shay Shay,’ which has reached over 3 million subscribers on YouTube.
In a recent appearance on former NFL quarterback Cam Newton’s ‘Funky Friday’ podcast, Sharpe opened up about his fractured relationship with Bayless, eventually leading to Shannon leaving the show.
“It was a combination of things; maybe there are some things I could have done differently. Maybe I should have just had a conversation with Skip before it even got to that point. I don’t know, it’s really hard to say. I just think that after seven years of you with somebody, and this is what I tell people in relationships: it’s easier to grow apart than to grow together,” Sharpe said. “Maybe this was all I was supposed to get out of that. Maybe this was the bridge that I was supposed to travel on for seven years, and after that, that bridge was going to collapse and force me to do something else.”
Sharpe reached his breaking point during one particular argument. The two argued over prolific quarterback Tom Brady, who had a streak of poor performances during his final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Skip accused Sharpe of being an analyst who jealously resents Brady for having a longer, more decorated NFL career than Shannon’s 14-year Hall of Fame football career.
“See, if somebody else had said what Skip said, I wouldn’t have batted an eye,” Sharpe replied when asked if Bayless crossing the line was the final straw that led to his exit. “But we’re supposed to be teammates, and I think that’s what hurt me more than anything. My teammate; that’s what he thought about me.”
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