Would You Pay Stephen A. Smith $25M A Year?

According to Puck News, ESPN has offered “First Take” Stephen A. Smith a five-year, $90 million deal ($18 million per year) to remain at ESPN.

Since the initial offer surfaced, Smith's team has reportedly countered at $25 million annually.

The news comes a week after reporter James Andrew Miller spoke on the “SI Media with Jimmy Traina” podcast about the early stages of the contract negotiations and that Smith wants a “big, big number.”

“Stephen A.’s deal is coming up,” Miller said on the show last week. “In fact, I think there have been preliminary talks already that have started. He’s looking for a big, big number,” Miller said. “And I also feel, given the content world, he doesn’t even have to have another offer from one entity for that big number.

“I think what ESPN is up against is the possibility that WME could go out and create an architecture where Stephen A. has a podcast, a this, a deal with this, a deal with that, whatever, and at the end of the day, it’s $20 million a year.”

THE UNDERRATED OPINION
The question is, would you pay Stephen A. Smith $25 million a year? Considering that Joe Buck is bringing home $12.5 million a year just to broadcast Monday Night Football, I'd say that Smith is worth every penny of that reported $25 million he is looking for.

Smith, who certainly has his detractors, has essentially become the Howard Cosell of this generation, and whether you love him or hate him, he has become an extremely valuable sports media mainstay.