Wallace provided Smith with a chance to take a shot at Prescott when he asked about his looming negotiation, and Smith pointedly noted the QB’s massive contract — and unfavorably compared Prescott’s record to his own.
Smith also went on to tell Wallace the advice Trump — pre-presidency — gave him about getting people to invest in you:
WALLACE: But having said that, your ESPN contract.
SMITH: Yes, sir.
WALLACE: Is, what we’re told, up next year.
SMITH: June.
WALLACE: Okay? June of 2025, and the word on the street is that you want something in the range of $100 million for five years. (right). True?
SMITH: Well, it ain’t false. I mean, I want shoot. I always want as much money as I can get. I’m not going to apologize to that. I’m a capitalist. I ain’t apologizing for that.
WALLACE: I mean, are you setting the bar that high?
SMITH: No, well, you could say that high. I’m not getting specific as it pertains to numbers, because only a fool discusses his own negotiations while negotiating. So I’m not going to go that far. What I would say to you is, I would ask, respectfully, pay attention to the industry. See what people are getting paid. See how much money they’re making and what they’re bringing to the table. Look at look at their ratings, look at their revenue that they’re generating, and look at mine. And so we all want what the market bears. Dak Prescott just signed a contract for $240 million he’s making 60 million a year. He made sure to
WALLACE: I know. He’s the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
SMITH: Who has won two playoff games in eight years, I’ve been number one for 12. I’m sorry, in our respective industries, I win and I’m fully aware of what I’m worth, and I will never apologize to that for anybody.
WALLACE: I read somewhere that you learned how to understand your value and set your value from Donald Trump.
SMITH: I had a show, quite frankly, on ESPN two 2006 Donald Trump was obviously hosting the apprentice, which was a very, very popular show. He came on there, and I interviewed him while we were in the green room. Prior to him coming on to the set, he told the story, and he said, quote, when you go to the bank and you borrow $3 million and you can’t pay it back, you’ve got a problem. But when you go to the bank and you borrow $300 million and you can’t pay it back, we’ve got a problem. And he said, the moral of the story is always get folks to invest as much as they possibly can in you, because when they do so they have to insure. They have to do whatever they can to ensure your success.
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