Scott Van Pelt is an 'interested party' in Stephen A Smith's next ESPN contract

ESPN's five-year, $85 million licensing deal with the Pat McAfee Show is continuing to have knockdown effects among a tiny circle of peers in the sports broadcasting industry.

McAfee's creative freedoms — from the uncensored F-bombs to the guest spots with NFL Network's Ian Rapoport — were previously unheard of for a front-facing talent on ESPN.

It's time for a celebration @KendrickPerkins

You just dropped seven F BOMBS on ESPN 👏

😂😂 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/oDUHvYUnPg
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 6, 2024

Now, as Stephen A. Smith negotiates his next deal with ESPN, many of the headlines have focused on its likely record-setting outlay — reportedly $120 million over six years. For Scott Van Pelt, the money isn't the interesting part of Stephen A.'s next deal.

Van Pelt and Smith are ESPN employees; McAfee is effectively a subcontractor. All three are the rare brands who could stand on their own outside the confines of the Worldwide Leader. That gives them the luxury of negotiating the boundaries of where they want to take their brand.

Smith, for example, is a frequent sparring partner in Sean Hannity's political debates. And while there's no indication SVP would venture into politics, it's understandable why he counts himself as an "interested party" in how and where ESPN allows Smith to extend his brand.

"All of you who cover it are going to mention the (Stephen A. Smith contract) numbers," Van Pelt told John Ourand of Puck on The Varsity podcast. "The numbers aren't as interesting to me as what the buffet is. ... You're going to do First Take, you're going to do something with the NBA, but what else are you doing and is it under the umbrella of ESPN or is it not?"

Van Pelt contrasted the evolution of his role within ESPN from the time he joined the network more than 20 years ago and co-hosted SportsCenter with Stuart Scott — at the time, the most prestigious assignment ESPN had to offer.

"Well it's a very different time now," Van Pelt said. "Daytime talk and being the CEO of your brand and parceling it out to however many different bidders — like, look, Stephen A. could be like the NFL where you say 'I'm going to give Netflix a piece, I'm going to give Amazon a piece, I'm going to give NBC, Fox, ESPN, CBS — like everyone's going to get a taste.

"Well if he's allowed to do that, then I would be a very interested party to ask 'well what would that look like for me?' I don't know the answer."

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