Stephen A. Smith Has a Massive Net Worth Thanks to Multimillion-Dollar ESPN Contract

The Breakdown: Stephen A. Smith is a long-time sports reporter who’s become the face of the biggest sports network in the world. After a humble start in print journalism at Winston-Salem State University, the reporter/analyst worked his way up to the top of the game. Now he’s making money that puts him in the top three of the highest-paid sports reporters.

Stephen A. Smith is one of the most loved major sports reporters of our time — well, unless you're a Dallas Cowboys fan. He's probably the biggest hater of "America's Team" and doesn't hesitate to show it off in his big cowboy hat. Outside of the NFL, his boisterous takes may make you hate him one day and love him the next.

However, there’s no denying that Stephen is a legend among those who cover professional sports' greatest games and stars. Along with the rest of the NBA on TNT crew, he’s one of the highest-paid reporters in the world. We have the latest on his net worth and the millions that he’ll be getting from ESPN, thanks to his new contract.

Stephen A. Smith’s reported net worth varies. According to Celebrity Net Worth, his net worth is $45 million as of 2025. However, it was also reported to be $85 million by Finance Monthly. We estimate that his net worth fluctuates somewhere between these two numbers from his contracts and assets.

Stephen is known as one of the most animated and, at times, controversial sports personalities. He’s been a familiar face on ESPN over the past two decades, reporting on basketball. His voice is one of the best known in sports debate shows, having also worked with Shannon Sharpe, Skip Bayless, and Max Kellerman.

In March 2025, he was caught in a heated debate with LeBron James during a Lakers-Knicks game. While the argument stemmed from the show host's criticisms of the player's son, Stephen has been a lifelong New York Knicks fan. The Knicks have received plenty of praise and criticism from the ESPN host. Some of his most watched and well-known rants center around the basketball club.

His most famous rant is probably his criticism of former NBA player Kwame Brown. Brown was selected as the number one overall pick in the 2001 draft and became known as the biggest draft bust of all time.

The clip shows Stephen on an intense rant, calling the high school sensation “a bonafide scrub” after being traded for Pau Gasol in 2008.

Stephen may be worth millions now, but he had an incredibly humble start.

Stephen was born in the Bronx and was the youngest of six children. After graduating high school, he studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology for a year. He transferred to Winston-Salem State University on a basketball scholarship for his sophomore year.

However, a severe knee injury ended Stephen’s tenure early. The injury allowed him to find his true passion while writing for the university’s newspaper. After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications, Stephen found work for different print and radio publications along the East Coast.

He ended up at ESPN in 2005 with his morning talk show, Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. He’s been featured on SportsCenter and NBA on ESPN as an analyst frequently, but First Take was where he found a perfect match. He originally joined the show as a debate co-host for Skip Bayless in 2012. He stayed on the morning show when Max Kellerman replaced Bayless. He then became the show's main host, with Molly Qerim, when Sharpe stepped in for Kellerman.

In 2025, the show host reached a deal with ESPN for a contract worth $100 million over five years. This contract marks the largest ever given out to a show host on the network. It also makes Stephen the highest-paid non-former athlete sports reporter on the world’s biggest sports network in history. First Take has held the number one spot in morning sports debate show ratings since April 2024, and it seems like it’ll continue to hold the crown for a bit longer.