It's been almost a year since Shannon Sharpe left Undisputed.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end had his last show on the Fox Sports 1 staple on 12 June, 2023 when the Denver Nuggets won the NBA Finals.
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Sharpe spent seven years on the sports debate show alongside Skip Bayless.
Skip and Shannon's relationship turned tumultuous towards the end and eventually Bayless and Fox Sports decided to move on without Sharpe.
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The former Broncos TE reached abuyout agreementwith Fox Sports that saw him depart and eventually join rival network ESPN.
During a recent appearance on the Black Money Treepodcast, the NFL legend reflected on how he left Undisputed and the emotions he had to deal with.
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“See, people are like, ‘Well, Shannon, why’d you get so emotional?’ Because if you knew what I put into that job, you would understand it,” Sharpe told host Jerome D. Love.
“You see, the greater the expectation, the greater the hurt when it doesn’t work out. And I poured so much into that.”
A visibly upset Sharpe began to get choked up and revealed that his commitment to the job cost his personal life.
“I gave up everything. I lost relationships because I couldn’t go out to dinner. I couldn’t go on vacation. I couldn’t do it because I had to watch all the sporting events. I had to be able to talk about them on television and talk about them expertly, so it cost me a lot.”
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“To say that it didn’t hurt to leave because it did.. because of what I put into that, and that’s why it hurts,” he went on.
“That’s why parents get upset when your kid doesn’t fulfill what you have expected of them. It hurt you more. It hurt me to lose because I had put so much into that job.
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Since departing FS1, Sharpe joined ESPN’sFirst Takeas a part-time guest alongside Stephen A. Smith.
The show's ratings have been incredibly strong while Undisputed's, which features a revolving door of contributors including Keyshawn Johnson, Michael Irvin, Paul Pierce and Richard Sherman, has plummeted.
Crucially, Sharpe was also able to retain his podcast, Club Shay Shay, after the Fox Sports buyout, which has soared in popularity.
The podcast is now part of Colin Cowherd's The Volume, which Sharpe's other popular podcast, Nightcap, with Chad Johnson, sits under.
"And so now I look at it, I say now I’m no longer talent," Sharpe added.
"You can’t fire me from Shay Shay media because I own it. You can’t fire me from ‘Nightcap.’ You can’t fire me from ‘Club Shay Shay,’ I own it. And so that’s the way I look at my business now. You’re going to be my partner. You’re no longer just going to cut me a check to do something. We’re in partnership.”
Bayless has remained tight lipped about the drama since it unfolded, but Sharpe has been relatively open about what transpired.
He appeared on The Stephen A. Smith Show last year and revealed he felt disrespected by Bayless towards the end of their time together.
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“There were times that led up to that that I felt shots were taken, and I let it go,” Sharpe told Smith.
“I should’ve said something then, but I didn’t. And I would bring it to people’s attention, and they brushed it up under the rug. So that was my fault that it got to that point and he felt that he could go over the top in that situation. I think in any relationship where there’s a host or co-host… once one partner has no respect for the other, the other partner then, in turn, loses respect for said partner. Then, I think it’s only a matter of time.
"Because in that moment, I had felt he had lost all respect for me. He had no respect for me.”
In the end, Sharpe has had the last laugh as his popularity has skyrocketed while Undisputed and Bayless' is at an all-time low.
It was undoubtedly a tough situation for Shannon at the time but one that he has ultimately benefited from.
Sharpe won three Super Bowls during his playing days with the Broncos and Ravens.
The former seventh round pick made seven consecutivePro Bowlsand four first-teamAll-Pros and is widely considered as one of the greatest tight ends ever, alongside players like Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski.
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He ranks third in tight endreceptions, receiving yards, and receivingtouchdowns and was also the first NFL tight end to amass over 10,000 receiving yards.
He transitioned into sports media after retirement and worked with Bayless on Undisputed from 2016-2023.
