Skip Bayless remained at FOX for $32M, rejected offer from ESPN

You don’t have to be an athlete to be coveted. Look at CBS and Tony Romo.

And now, comes a New York Post report that Skip Bayless decided to remain at FOX Sports on a four-year, $32M contract after spurning a pitch from ESPN to return and work with Stephen A Smith, once again.

Per the report:

The duo would have done a daily ESPN+ show together, while being splashed over ESPN, including weekly spots on “Monday Night Football’s” halftime show.

After lengthy negotiations, it culminated in Fox Sports retaining Bayless with a four-year, $32 million contract, according to sources.

Another piece of intrigue comes with Sharpe’s contract, which is up in July. He makes far less than his debate partner on “Undisputed” and it will be fascinating to see how deep FOX goes into its pocketbook to keep the NFL Hall of Famer.

Smith, who makes close to $8 million per year, was a driving force in ESPN’s recruitment of Bayless. The long negotiations went over several months and did not conclude until late fall.

In August, ESPN offered the 69-year-old Bayless a four-year deal in the $30 million range. There is disagreement among sources of ESPN’s best offer, as some officials had it as high as $31 million and others had it as low as $26.5 million. The desire, though, was unquestioned.

Bayless left ESPN to join the fledgling FS1 network as one of its cornerstones. His rating numbers are nowhere near where they were with Smith at ESPN but they have climbed through the years.