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Report: Shannon Sharpe Set to Leave FS1's 'Undisputed' After Contract Buyout

Adam Wells

Pro Football Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe is set to leave FS1's Undisputed.

Per Ryan Glasspiegel of the New York Post, Sharpe has reached an agreement on a contract buyout with Fox Sports and his final appearance on the daily sports talk show is expected to air after the conclusion of the NBA Finals.

As part of the buyout agreement, Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast will also cease to be part of Fox Sports.

Sharpe and Skip Bayless have been with Undisputed since the show launched in September 2016.

While the format of the show is for Sharpe and Bayless to argue key sports topics of the day, there have been recent moments when it seemed like things were crossing a line.

On the Dec. 12 episode, Sharpe seemed to take exception when Bayless made an off-hand comment about Tom Brady playing at the age of 45 and the former tight end retired at 35 years old.

"That's what you do," Sharpe responded (h/t Glasspiegel). "Every time I call something into question, I get it … I did what I did! You make it seem like I was a bum! I'm in the effin' Hall of Fame. I got three Super Bowls!"

A few weeks later, responding to Damar Hamlin's collapsing on the field in a game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals, Bayless sent out a controversial tweet before the NFL decided to postpone the game:

Sharpe didn't appear on the show the day after the tweet. He didn't directly address his absence when he returned on Jan. 4 but called out his fellow analyst for what he said in the tweet.

After Bayless interrupted a thought, Sharpe sounded off on his fellow analyst again: "I cannot even get through a monologue without you interrupting me … I didn't want yesterday to get into a situation where Damar Hamlin was the issue. We should've been talking about him and not getting into your tweet. That was what I wasn't going to do, but you can't even let me finish my open monologue."

According to Glasspiegel, people close to Sharpe said he wasn't looking to be the "unquestioned leader on the show, but wanted to be an equal with Bayless in the program's topic selection."

Since his playing career ended in 2003, Sharpe has had a successful shift into broadcasting. He was previously on CBS' NFL Sunday pregame show and Sirius NFL Radio's morning program with Bob Papa.

   

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