There’s an old colloquialism used in the hood that says, “Don’t hate the playa hate the game!” Well playas…I’m going to pull it out right now. Once the word hit the streets that the big homie Stephen A. Smith was in line to become the highest paid on-air personality in ESPN history as it was first reported by the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand. We all of a sudden started seeing boyz hating on Stephen A. for getting the bag!!!
His current deal that is set to expire in 2021 pays him $5 million per year. The new deal will pay him between $8 million and $10 million per year. Mike Greenberg is currently the highest paid cat at ESPN making $6.5 million per year with the PTI Crew’s Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser making somewhere in the neighborhood of Greenberg.
What tripped me out was the amount of folks, especially black folks, screaming about how they hate Stephen A. Smith. Sure, he’s a loud mouth that thinks that he knows everything but that’s his job bruh!!! He’s supposed to think that he knows everything whether he knows it or not. That’s what he gets paid to do. Yes, he’s sometimes over the top but he’s out here hustling and opening the doors for the next generation of sports and news analysts.
His job is to give his opinion. It’s not his job for him to say only what he thinks you’re going to agree with. You don’t have to agree with him on every topic because I sure as heck don’t and that’s the edited version. But don’t hate the playa, hate the game!!
How many times in THIS America have you seen the black guy on the job making more money that everybody on the job? We’ve got to applaud Stephen A. for getting the bag and setting the example for hustlin’ and grindin’ to get to the top in a corporate setting. This isn’t the time to be the crabs in a bucket to try to tear this man down. It’s time to give him his due for being professional enough to endure the challenges of the job and rise to the top of his profession. Congrats homie!! Stop me when I start lyin’!