Where Is Shannon Sharpe Heading Next? Here Are 5 Options

First Take with Stephen A. Smith? A solo daily TV Show? We listed possible options for Shannon Sharpe's next career move after 'Undisputed.'

Jun 01, 2023
Andrew D. Bernstein / NBAE via Getty Images
Andrew D. Bernstein / NBAE via Getty Images

The day has finally come. After seven years, Shannon Sharpe is reportedly leaving 'Undisputed' after agreeing to a contract buyout as first reported by the New York Post. An announcement that may not be a total surprise to many as the tension between Skip Bayless and Shannon has been well-documented over the past few years. Shannon Sharpe's recent Twitter likes all but confirmed those speculations as he liked a tweet hinting that Skip was jealous of his rise to stardom and personal success without him. 


Uncle Shay has developed himself into one of the leading pillars of sports media and has grown past the stage of being a sidekick to Skip. Shannon will be one of the most sought-after free agents in the media market and will likely field a numerous amount of offers from different types of platforms. His personal platform, 'Club Shay Shay,' has tallied over a million subscribers on YouTube and has quietly emerged as one of the top podcasts in not only sports media but the entire media industry. Shannon has been able to show that he's much more than sports personality and quietly has evolved into one of the best interviewers in the game. His latest interview with Steve Harvey, a two-hour sit-down, has garnered over five million views in a month.  


What's next for Shannon? Will he key in on his own platform or could he just change networks. We listed five possible options for the next step of Shannon Sharpe's career. 

1. 'First Take' with Stephen A. Smith

Twitter: @ComplexSports
Listen, Stephen A. and Shannon Sharpe have been the two pillars of sports debate on television for the past decade. From their viral moments to their several back-and-forth encounters with guests and athletes, you can't mention television sports debates without mentioning these two whether you like them or not. We've seen glimpses of them on First Take prior to Shannon becoming a co-host on 'Undisputed' and those moments did not disappoint. We saw Stephen A. and Uncle Shay actually team up to battle against Skip Bayless on 'First Take' in 2015. While they'll be debating against each other, it's likely they'll get along much better than Skip and Shannon did. 

Stephen A. has been without a permanent co-host on the show ever since Max Kellerman departed but Shannon could be the perfect fit to bring back a duo-led show. Not to mention, could you imagine those two with Michael Irvin's weekly appearances? That's pure entertainment and would likely break any recent ratings the show has tabbed. 'First Take' already has some of the top characters in the industry and adding Shannon to the fold would be unfair for sports television. Regardless of whether you're a fan or not, you will tune in whether on social media or daily.

Twitter: @Kameron_Hay

2. Go All In With 'Club Shay Shay'

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While Shannon has garnered most of his attention from hot takes on his 'Undisputed' specifically his praise for LeBron, he's quietly built one of the top podcasts in the industry. He's flashed his versatility in media as his guests have gone beyond sports. He's had viral one-on-one sit-down interviews with names like Chris Tucker, T.I., Steve Harvey, Druski, and Cedric the Entertainer, diving deep into their careers and life events. Shannon may come off as a comedic figure to some but he's developed himself into one of the best interviewers in the game right now. 

Club Shay Shay has amassed over one million subscribers and will only continue to grow if Shannon goes all in with his own platform to rival some of the top podcast-led platforms in the space right now. 

Twitter: @PierceSimpson

3. His Own Daily Show On Television Solo

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When he first started on 'Undisputed', Shannon was more of a Robin to Skip Bayless. Skip was the top dog in the industry and Shannon was there to replicate the cadence Skip built with Stephen A. on ESPN. As Shannon started to develop more as a co-host and started to find his niche, that quickly shifted. Shannon started to grow his own fanbase and in the recent years, you can argue more people watched the show for Shannon rather than for Skip. 

Shannon now has the fan base and notoriety to run his own show alone. His fans will follow him wherever he goes. While it would be unlikely for that sports show to be on Fox Sports, it would be interesting to see where he could go. ESPN has committed its platform to Stephen A. so it would also be unlikely for them to invest into a solo show with Shannon. Shannon's love for LeBron and the Lakers is a big part of his sports personality so being able to dive into that discourse could be important for him. 

Could it be something backed by LeBron with SpringHill & Uninterrupted or a platform like FanDuelTV? There will be sports platforms lining up to make their pitch. 

Could we even see Shannon take the Michael Strahan route and do a daytime talk show as we've seen his step outside of sports a bit as of late? 

Twitter: @UpSpacely

4. Streaming

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OK, hear me out. 'Club Shay Shay' is a growing to a point where Shannon may not need to do anything else but there could be a lot of other money opportunities left on the table. The biggest internet stars right now are all coming from the world of streaming. Whether it's names like iShowSpeed or Kai Cenat, they've quickly become some of the top voices on the internet through their respective platforms. There are a lot of platforms that would offer a gigantic check for Shannon to do daily commentary via streaming and that could be another option for him to pursue while he continues to focus on growing Club Shay Shay. Streaming may be seen as a young man's game right now but Shannon connects with the younger audience enough to thrive in that area as well. It can essentially be seen as income-boosting side gig while he continues to build his own platform. 

Shannon would be the first in sports television to opt for the streaming route full time and to be honest,  the trend of viewer engagement shows that he could be first domino of many others doing that as well. 

5. Return to NFL Coverage

Twitter: @shannonsharpeee
Many people forget that Shannon Sharpe used to be on NFL Network and CBS Sports covering the NFL and he was just as entertaining on those platforms as he is today. Going back to NFL Coverage keeps Shannon in his natural field, an expert of football, while still being able to grow his personal platform Club Shay Shay. 

A sports platform should give Shannon a choice of his crew to build and try to replicate TNT's 'Inside the NBA's success on television. We've seen moments with Deion Sanders, LaDainian Tomlinson, Michael Irvin, and Warren Sapp that have flashed the potential of giving us that same vibe that TNT's crew has provided for over a decade. While the NFL audience differs from the NBA audience and that will be much more difficult to sell, there's always need for a cultural aspect to the sports and Shannon would be perfect to lead it.

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