SHANNON Sharpe has spoken out about her departure from Undisputed.
The NFL Hall of Famer, 55, left the popular FS1 sports talk show following the 2023 NBA Finals.
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Sharpe’s abrupt departure came after he reached an agreement with Fox about buying out the remainder of his deal
His decision appeared to stem from growing tension between him and Undisputed co-host Skip Bayless, with whom he worked for seven years.
But despite the difficult end to their working relationship, Sharpe was visibly emotional as he said goodbye to Bayless and Undisputed in July 2023.
Sharpe quickly landed a new role as part-time co-host of ESPN’s First Take, joining Molly Qerim and Stephen A. Smith on Mondays and Tuesdays.
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In addition to his role on ESPN, Sharpe’s podcasts, Nightcap and Club Shay Shay, have also seen great success lately.
In a recent appearance on The black money tree podcast, Sharpe admitted that “I’d be lying if I said I thought I’d be where I am right now at this point.
“I thought it was possible? Yes. But I thought it would take a lot longer than it actually did.”
He explained that when asked why his emotions got the best of him during his last appearance on Undisputed: “If you knew what I put into this work, you would understand.
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“See, the greater the expectation, the greater the pain when it doesn’t work out.
“And I invested so much in this. I gave up everything.
“I lost relationships because I couldn’t go out to dinner, I couldn’t go on vacation…
“I had to watch every sporting event because I needed to be able to talk about them on television and talk about them skillfully.”
Sharpe later added that it “hurt to leave” Undisputed and FS1.
“It hurt me to lose because I put so much into this work,” he elaborated.
Now the owner of Shay Shay Media, Sharpe is clearly enjoying being his own boss.
“You can’t fire me from Shay Shay Media, because it’s mine,” he said.
Shannon Sharpe’s playing career
Shannon Sharpe was a three-time Super Bowl champion before his career in heavy media.
The former tight end played in the NFL from 1990 to 2003 – mainly for the Denver Broncos.
He was part of the 1998 and 1999 Super Bowl championship teams, as well as the 2001 Baltimore Ravens title-winning team.
Sharpe was an eight-time Pro Bowler and voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He finished with 10,060 yards on 815 receptions and 62 touchdowns.
The former NFL star has had an equally strong career on television screens since retiring.
“You can’t fire me from Nightcap, you can’t fire me from Club Shay Shay, I own it.
“This is how I see my business now, you will be my partner.”
It was reported in early May that Sharpe was closing in on a contract extension with ESPN, as per Atlético.
The deal is said to be for “multiple years” and will see him remain on First Take while also making other appearances on NFL programming.
As for Undisputed, Sharpe’s role was filled by fellow NFL veterans Keyshawn Johnson, Richard Sherman and Michael Irvin.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
