Skip Bayless is a sports columnist and TV personality most famously known for his appearance on First Take and Undisputed. Born as John Edward Bayless II on December 4, 1951, in Oklahoma. His father John Jr. used to call him Skip (Skipper of a ship) and the name stuck forever.
Bayless made his entry into the world of journalism right after college when he joined The Miami Herald. He worked for the Los Angeles Times, The Dallas Morning News, and the Dallas Times Herald before publishing his first book God’s Coach: The Hymns, Hype and Hypocrisy of Tom Landry’s Cowboys. This book captured the rise and fall of America’s Team under head coach Tom Landry.
In 1989, Skip Bayless joined ESPN and held various positions for the organization over the years. He became a fan favorite on ESPN2 show First Take with Stephen A. Smith as both battled it out on their takes on teams, players, coaches, and the daily happening of the NFL.
However, in 2016, he said goodbye to ESPN which had been his home for more than two decades. Skip joined Fox Sports and debuted on FS1 Skip and Shannon: Undisputed alongside Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe.
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How much is Fox paying Skip Bayless?
In March 2021, Skip Bayless signed a four-year $32 million contract with Fox Sports. According to The New York Post, ESPN offered him a four-year deal in the same $30 million range but Skip choose to stay back with Fox Sports. Skip’s annual salary comes around to $5 million which is more than some of the NFL players he talks about on his show.
Over the years, Skip Bayless has landed himself in a lot of trouble for what he has said on his shows. His takes on NBA Icon LeBron James and 4x NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers are the most famous ones. Skip always speaks about his love for the Dallas Cowboys and defends them from the harsh words of his counterpart, Shannon Sharpe. However, he is sometimes known to criticize them from time to time.
The latest controversy that saw Skip Bayless regret his words was his take on Damar Hamlin‘s injury. The Buffalo Bills safety suffered a cardiac arrest during the Bills-Bengals Week 17 game. His tweet after the game was suspended attracted a lot of hate from everyone in the league as well as stars from other major league sports. Skip tweeted: “No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant.”
Skip later apologized for his insensitive tweet. Shannon Sharpe missed an episode of Undisputed following Skip’s tweet which led fans to believe there was trouble in paradise for the duo. However, Sharpe came around and the two never talked about the incident on air and all’s well on Undisputed.
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