Stephen A Smith is one of the most well-known sportswriters in the world, principally working for ESPN. Smith was born on October 14, 1967, in The Bronx, New York.
His mother, Janet Smith, raised him together with four elder sisters and one younger brother who died in a vehicle accident in 1992. Except for the fact that he managed a hardware business, little is known about his father.
Smith attended Thomas Edison High School in Queens before transferring to Winston-Salem State University on a scholarship.
Despite the fact that he played basketball for his college team, he had already begun his literary career. Smith penned a column criticizing his former coach for The News Argust.
| Salary: | $8 Million |
| Date of Birth: | Oct 14, 1967 (54 years old) |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 6 ft (1.85 m) |
| Profession: | Talk show host, Presenter, Basketball player, Sports commentator, Journalist |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
Early Years of Stephen A. Smith’s Life and Career
Life:
Stephen A. Smith was born in the Bronx, New York, to a hardware shop owner’s father. Stephen’s father was a well-known basketball and baseball player before opening the hardware store.
He was born in 1967 and grew up with six other siblings, the second-youngest of whom was him. Smith was always interested in basketball and obtained a basketball scholarship to attend Winston-Salem State University. He spent a year at the Fashion Institute of Technology before enrolling at WSSU.
During his college basketball career, he played for legendary coach Clarence Gaines. This experience surely provided Stephen A. Smith with a wealth of insight and tactical understanding of basketball.
Smith was not hesitant to openly criticize his coach, despite his instructor’s renown and popularity. Smith wrote for the university newspaper, and as he neared the end of his undergraduate career, he advocated that Gaines should retire due to his poor health. Stephen A. Smith earned his bachelor’s degree in 1991.
Career:
Stephen A. Smith began working as a sportswriter while attending Winston-Salem State University, which provided him with the necessary experience to launch his career as a sports journalist. Smith was soon hired by his hometown newspaper, The Winston-Salem Journal, after graduating from the University in 1991.
Smith worked as a clerk in the sports department of the newspaper. Smith progressed from this entry-level position to work for The Greensboro News & Record and later The New York Daily News. Smith’s experience at The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he was entirely responsible for writing about the Philadelphia 76ers, catapulted him into the public eye.
His career expanded to incorporate a number of professional sports-related themes as his writings gained more readers. Stephen A. Smith was promoted twice while working for The Philadelphia Inquirer, eventually becoming the general sports columnist. The Philadelphia Inquirer, on the other hand, witnessed a precipitous drop in subscriptions and was forced to let Smith leave in 2008.
Smith sued the newspaper organization, claiming that his sacking was unjust and violated the newspaper organization’s and the Philadelphia Newspaper Guild’s collective bargaining agreement. In retaliation for the harm done to Smith’s career by The Philadelphia Inquirer, he demanded that the newspaper pay him $100,000 and “publish and promote Stephen A. Smith’s writings.”
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Smith’s lawyers demanded that their client be reinstated in his post within 15 days, that he be permitted to freely publish his viewpoint, and that Smith ensure that he would be able to cover the themes he desired. The newspaper was reportedly anticipated to continue Smith’s $225,000 salary as well as his dental and medical insurance.
When and How Did Stephen A. Smith Become So Well-to-do?
Stephen A. Smith is currently worth an estimated $14 million. His new contract with ESPN begins in April 2019 and pays him an estimated $8 million per year. This makes him the highest-paid presenter on ESPN’s roster.
His other sources of income include advertising campaign payments and journalistic work for newspapers and magazines. He is very active on social media, with accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Stephen keeps the information about his personal life under wraps, thus little is known about his relationships and family. He has two daughters despite never marrying.
Life Outside of Work for Stephen A. Smith
Stephen A. Smith does not have a spouse, and he has never been married in the past. In contrast, Smith disclosed the existence of his two kids, ages 10 and 11, during an interview that he gave to GQ in the year 2019. (now probably 12 and 13). Nobody seems to know what their daughters’ names are.
Smith also said that he has been engaged in the past, but the marriage never took place for various reasons.
How Stephen A. Smith Got His Start ESPN
Stephen A. Smith began working for ESPN in 2003 as an analyst for the NBA Shootaround pregame show, which ultimately evolved into an NBA countdown. He hosted his own show, Quite Frankly With Stephen A. Smith, two years later, which was discontinued in 2007.
In addition, he was granted his own daily show, The Stephen A. Smith Show. Having said that, most sports fans would recognize him from ESPN’s First Take, which he joined in 2012. Stephen A. Smith has been on numerous other ESPN programs, including Dream Job, Pardon the Interruption, Jim Rome is Burning, and Sportscenter. Smith signed a contract worth $3 million per year in 2014.
Stephen A. Smith’s ESPN compensation was $5 million from 2015 until April 2019. Smith was believed to have signed a new contract with ESPN until 2021, for $8-$10 million per year, in April 2019. These figures show that Smith is one of the highest-paid TV personalities in ESPN history.
How Much Money Does Stephen A. Smith Have in the Bank?
Stephen A. Smith has a net worth of $16 million and an annual salary of $8 million, the majority of which he earned as a sports writer and media figure.
While Smith may prefer to keep his personal life private, his work as a sports commentator is constantly in the spotlight, for better or worse.
Stephen A. Smith was born in the Bronx, New York on October 14, 1967.
By the time Smith was a teenager, his father was a well-known baseball and basketball player who owned his own hardware business.
Despite his father’s own business and former sports career, Smith was the second-youngest of seven children, and money was carefully distributed across all of the family’s duties.
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Smith, fortunately, had a natural talent for basketball and was able to gain a scholarship at Winston-Salem State University.
Smith had the opportunity to practice under famous coach Clarence Gaines while playing for Winston-Salem State University.
Under Gaines’ cautious observation, the future sports commentator gained some unique and valuable insight into the various basketball approaches.
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Although Smith learned a lot about basketball strategy from Gaines, he was never reluctant to express himself.
Smith routinely wrote for his high school’s newspaper, and one of the final things he covered during his senior year was whether or not Clarence Gaines should resign, citing the coach’s poor health as a cause.
To this day, Stephen A. Smith is notorious for telling fans exactly what he thinks of NBA players and coaches.
While not everyone agrees with Smith, he is continually making headlines for his controversial remarks.
The Controversy Concerning Stephen A. Smith
Stephen A. Smith is noted for his blunt, bleak, and no-nonsense analysis. Stephen’s “straight-up” style has sparked a number of debates. Perhaps the most well-known discussion point revolves around his comments about domestic abuse in relation to an NFL player and his wife.
As a result, the commentator was briefly suspended. Stephen A. Smith also made headlines when he argued that an NFL coach’s decisions were influenced by racial prejudice. After seeing a highlight clip of women’s soccer during the FIFA World Cup, the commentator found himself in hot water once more.
