‘They Said It Was Over,’ ‘It Was Devastating’ — Shannon Sharpe, Skip Bayless Reveal How Fox Sports Ended Iconic ‘Undisputed’ Show

Jul 20, 2024; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Former NFL football player Shannon Sharpe in attendance of the WNBA All Star Game at Footprint Center. © Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless are reunited at last, and their relationship may surprise you.

Formerly known for their heated sports debates, the ex-FS1 co-hosts of “Undisputed” left things awkward when their partnership came to an end. However, when they recently got together and discussed the split for the first time, it appeared there was no lingering bad blood between them.

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While both Sharpe and Bayless had previously spoken separately about the end of their on-air relationship, their conversation on “Club Shay Shay” marked the first time they discussed it together.

Awful Announcing’s Brandon Contes detailed what ultimately brought Sharpe and Bayless’ seven-year “Undisputed” partnership to an end.

“Not only did Sharpe not want to leave, but he would have been willing to revitalize the show with Bayless, despite having already announced his looming departure,” Contes wrote.

Sharpe explained that Fox ultimately didn’t give him a choice, and Bayless soon shared his side of the story.

“I went upstairs and relayed this one last time, ‘Just let this be.’ Because we each had about one year left on our deals,” Bayless recalled. “And I was pretty sure a year from that day, I wanted to try something else. We had such a great run that I told them, just let this go. It’s cool, we’re cool, we’re fine.

“And I had to go back down to your dressing room the day before you left to say I got cold blank stares [from them upstairs]. I got, ‘No way in [expletive] are we going forward with this show.’ And it was devastating to me.”

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Meanwhile, Sharpe shared, “They didn’t give me much of a choice in the matter. And this is something I’ve never shared. They said, ‘This is over.’ They said it was over. I’m not gonna argue with you and fight with you. If you don’t think I’m good enough to do the job, okay.”

One of the duo’s most notorious debates came while discussing Tom Brady and his performance in his final season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bayless ended up accusing Sharpe of being jealous of Brady for his longevity and arguing that his career was way better than Sharpe’s. The legendary tight end got upset, accusing Bayless of taking “personal shots.”

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That type of fire and passion between the analysts made people think there was real tension between them. However, Bayless says the famous Brady argument wasn’t what ended their partnership.

“That segment was not the end of us,” Bayless said. “We had been going at it about Tom Brady. He’s struggling, and you’re killing him, man. I’m like, ‘Yeah, but he’s still the greatest we’ve ever seen.’ This had gone on, and it’s hard to explain to people because they just see the clip of it.

“This is a culmination of two or three months of this, where we’re doing it five times a week. Trust me to your point about you have to repeat topics, we’re doing it every day of the NFL season. We’re doing some Brady topic maybe three times, maybe more.”

Bayless’ explanation of their bond was meant to show fans how difficult things could be between two “competitive” people. The 74-year-old even called himself “psycho competitive” during his explanation.

All said, it seems possible that Sharpe and Bayless could have extended their “Undisputed” partnership if Fox had given them the chance. But how long it would have lasted after that is another question.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.