Is this the end of Skip Bayless?

When it comes to the bizarre world of sports talk debate, Skip Bayless is undeniably a legend. Whether you agree with him or more likely don’t, there’s no denying that his rise from hot take newspaper columnist to hot take talking head on television served as a microcosm for the evolution of the sports opinion industry.

There’s a reason why we’ve covered his uncertain future at Fox as fervently as we have and why The New York Post report that his time at the network is nearing its end has been treated like the massive story that it is. There’s no denying that Bayless’ impending exit from Fox marks the end of an era — regardless of how you feel about said era.

And that’s not only because it appears FS1 will, once again, be revamping its daytime programming. Even if Undisputed survives without Bayless, you can pretty much set your calendar to FS1 shifting its strategy and it looks like we’re once again approaching that time of year.

But while we’ll soon find what’s next for FS1 — is it finally time to build around Nick Wright? — what’s more interesting is what’s next for Bayless. And that’s not because there’s an abundance of obvious landing spots for the 72-year-old, but rather, a lack of them.

Anytime a major star leaves a network, the obvious question is “where are they heading?” Offseason speculation in sports has become a cottage industry because people love putting together the puzzle pieces to project the unknown and we’ve taken a similar approach in our coverage of the sports media.

But as I considered writing a piece projecting Bayless’ next destination, I became concerned I wouldn’t be able to reach my word count threshold.

Obviously, ESPN doesn’t need him or likely want him . And as gambling companies get smarter about where they spend their content budgets , it’s hard to imagine one aligning itself with a high-priced talent who hasn’t been much of a ratings draw in recent years.

Even X has already hitched its sports talk wagon to Jim Rome . While it’s always possible — albeit hardly likely — Bayless could patch things up with Shannon Sharpe or secure another big money deal from a sportsbook or social media platform, his options appear to be severely limited.

Surely, Bayless will land somewhere , even if it’s his own podcast/YouTube show or a platform more obscure than the ones we’ve become accustomed to seeing him on. But asking what’s next for Skip Bayless in 2024 feels akin to asking “what’s next?” for Matt Ryan following his 2022 season with the Indianapolis Colts; while it’s still an interesting discussion, it’s not even close to the same conversation we would have been having even five years earlier.

How did we get here?

While Bayless was (for better or worse) once one of the most prominent names in sports media, his failure to evolve over the years has turned him into a one-trick pony. And, if the ratings are any indication , it’s not a trick people seem interested in seeing anymore, as it’s not enough in 2024 to just play the role of pro wrestler spouting sports opinions.

The obvious rebuttal here is what about the person Bayless has been most linked to throughout his sports media career — his former First Take opponent, Stephen A. Smith? But while Smith certainly leans into some of the more performative aspects of sports television , he also does so much more than just that. He’s a studio panelist on NBA Countdown . He’s one of ESPN’s most connected talents . And he’s invested in building his own podcast presence, which he uses to wax poetic about politics, society, sports media and a variety of other topics (some of which seem awfully forced ).

Smith isn’t perfect, but it would be impossible to argue that he isn’t versatile. Meanwhile, Bayless uses his own podcast to recycle takes about the mythical “clutch gene” while sideswiping LeBron James .

Much like Undisputed ‘s ratings, Bayless’ YouTube numbers indicate the audience for such performances is limited. None of his three most recent videos — two about the Dallas Cowboys and one about James — cracked 1,000 views in their first four days after being uploaded. Only a small handful of his videos posted in the last month have topped 10,000 views, with many routinely failing to reach 5,000 views (Smith’s routinely top six-figures).

Why is Bayless’ reach seemingly so limited. Let’s get back to the idea that he’s a pro wrestler doing sports debate.

While Hulk Hogan reached new heights as a larger-than-life superhero-like figure in the 1980s and early-1990s, fans ultimately grew tired of his act. His feuds were formulaic. So were his matches. And it wasn’t until he evolved into becoming “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan that his career was able to find new legs.

The same thing has happened to Bayless.

While the idea of a sports commentator ripping LeBron James and blindly defending Tim Tebow might have been entertaining 15 years ago, audiences now crave more depth. Sure, they’ll let Stephen A. indulge in his cartoon-like Cowboys takes. But if you’re going to play the part of pro wrestler on sports debate television, you better be bringing more to the table than just auto-responses that seem like they were crafted by AI.

At this point, Bayless doesn’t, and considering his age, it’s fair to wonder if he ever will. Who needs to watch Undisputed or any Bayless-led program when you already know what he’s going to say? There’s only so many times you can watch somebody bend over backwards to discredit LeBron or lionize Tom Brady before the act grows as tired as Hulkamania did 30 years ago.

Bayless’ failure to evolve has been apparent in other ways too — most notably, his failure to navigate his relationship with Sharpe , which proved catastrophic to the trajectory of Undisputed . In Sharpe, Bayless had — pardon the continued pro wrestling analogy — a tag-team partner who could help him navigate the latter years of his career. Either he didn’t recognize that or he failed to value it properly. In any event, his loss has been ESPN’s (and Smith’s) gain.

Much like the athletes they cover, the careers of sports media personalities all follow trajectories and as the cliché goes, father time is undefeated. That’s not to say Bayless is too old for television. Heck, at this point, he’d make for a spry presidential candidate.

The same, however, can’t be said for his act, which many have grown not just tied of, but as the numbers show, totally indifferent to.

The post Skip Bayless reached a dead end because he failed to evolve appeared first on Awful Announcing .