Journalist
American sports TV personality Stephen A Smith, who was born Stephen Anthony Smith to African/American parents on October 14, 1967, has been involved in TV commentary for First Take on ESPN on a permanent basis since April 30, 2012.
Smith, who is already 50 years old, is well-known name in the world of sports journalism and has been able to earn a huge salary from ESPN. So, how much net worth does Stephen A. Smith has? All the details below here.
Stephen A Smith had a net worth of $10 million in 2018 which later increased to $16 million in 2019. His salary and earnings in 2017 was reported to be around $3.5 million, out of which he made $2.5 million from the popular sports channel ESPN as his annual salary and the rest of $1 million from his radio shows.
The First Take commentator signed a contract extension with ESPN for 5 years in November 2019. The New deal will make him the highest-paid ESPN personality with an annual salary of $8 million. His contract renewal will move past Mike Greenberg who earns $6.5 million.
Stephen A. Smith with his Mercedes car SOURCE: Carscoops Along with his rising popularity, Stephen’s income also has been seeing a year-on-year rise. His average earnings in 2015 was $3.1million, $400,000 less than what he is expected to make in 2017.
Enough to make you a Bolshevik: @stephenasmith new deal with @espn has him in $3.1 million to 3.5 range annually.
— jamesmiller (@JimMiller) January 22, 2015
In 2014, Stephen Smith signed a multi-year contract with ESPN which will pay him over $3 million per year. However, he has been trying to cancel the deal and write a new one, which reflects his old partner Skip Bayless’ four-year, $25-million contract with Fox Sports.
Smith got his first car, a Mercury Topaz, in 1985. The car was gifted by his mother. Later, in 1994, he bought his own car, a 1994 Honda Accord. Nowadays, he drives around in a 2015 Land Rover and Range Rover worth more than $84,000.
Stephen A. Smith with his car
source: Motor Trend
Given his unmarried status, we can only imagine how Stephen spends the money. Although there have been rumors regarding Smith having a girlfriend, he has flatly denied them all.
Stephen was educated at Thomas Edison High School. Afterward, he attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, during this period he won a basketball tournament competition which helped him win a scholarship to Winston-Salem State University.
Working as a print journalist, Smith started his career from Winston-Salem Journal and later worked for Greensboro News-Record and the New York Daily News. He shifted to Philadelphia Inquirer in 1994 and later started reporting as the NBA columnist with Philadelphia 6ers. He also became active on the radio and joined WEPN as a host for a weekday noon show. He shifted to Fox Sports Radio as an on-air contributor in 2009.
6.1 feet-tall Stephen started hosting the First Take show in 2007. Later, from April 30, 2012, along with Skip Bayless, Max Kellerman, and Molly Qerim, he started hosting the show on a permanent basis. He also has been actively hosting other programs as well, among which Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith, Sports Center and Pardon the Interruption are the most popular ones.
Smith was suspended for almost a month, from July 29, 2014, to August 6, 2014, and did not appear in any of the ESPN programs.
Along with his career as a sports journalist, Smith, born in New York City, New York, the U.S., is also involved in acting. He began his acting career on the ABC soap opera General Hospital in a cameo appearance on its February 2, 2007, episode. Apart from that, he has also appeared in movies like “I think I love My Wife”, released in 2007, and in commercials such as “The Little Voice in your Stomach”.
