Skip Bayless Is Apparently Leaving 'Undisputed' and FS1 a Year After Shannon Sharpe

All good things, as well as some things that really hate LeBron James, must come to an end. After eight years with FS1, The New York Post is reporting that Skip Bayless will be leaving his show, Undisputed, as well as FS1.

Following the news that Skip would be leaving the network, many wanted to better understand what had caused this shakeup to the schedule, and whether Skip was actually hired. Here's what we know about that question, and the broader FS1 shakeup:

We don't know for sure whether Skip was fired, but the reporting from The New York Post makes it seem like the change was not dictated by the long-time host. His final show will be later this summer, and the reporting suggests that the show will continue after he leaves.

This marks the second consecutive show in which the show has lost a major host after Shannon Sharpe departed following the NBA Finals in 2023.

The show's newer iteration featured Skip and a rotating lineup of panelists that included Keyshawn Johnson, Paul Pierece, Michael Irvin, Richard Sherman, and Rachel Nichols, and it failed to capture the imagination of viewers the way the show's one-on-one debates between Skip and Shannon had for the seven years that they hosted the show together.

The Post also reports that the show's ratings were hurt by its lead in, The Carton Show, which has not yet achieved the numbers that First Things First reached before it got moved to the afternoon slot after The Herd with Colin Cowherd. Both Skip and Colin left ESPN for FS1 in the mid-2010s, and both found success at the new network thanks in part to the ability they both had to share their clips on YouTube and social media.

While Undisputed isn't going anywhere but will have a new lineup, it's not the only change coming to FS1. First Things First and Speak are both expected to expand by a half hour after Race Hub, the network's NASCAR show, ended its 13-year run in June. In 2021, Skip reportedly signed a four-year contract with FS1 worth $32 million, and Colin will also be a media free agent during this upcoming TV season.

All of those changes mean that there is some uncertainty about the future both for FS1 and for Skip in particular. Skip has had a long career as a sports journalist, and initially came to fame for his duels with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN. Then, Skip brought that same energy to Undisputed, but at 72 years old, it seems like the time may becoming for him to step away from the daily TV game more generally.

Whatever happens next, he's already had a pretty impressive run on sports TV. This iteration of Undisputed was likely doomed the second Shannon left. FS1 is now headed into a future without one of its biggest stars of the last decade.