Skip Bayless Net Worth: About His Early Life, Career And Net Worth

Skip Bayless Net Worth

Skip Bayless net worth is estimated to be $17 million as an American sports columnist. Although he later resigned from his contract with ESPN2 to work at Fox Sports, Bayless is arguably best recognized for his work as a commentator on the ESPN2 program “First Take.” After quitting ESPN in 2016, Skip launched his own program, “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed,” on Fox Sports.

Bayless has earned a reputation as a commentator who “pulls no punches” throughout the years. Skip is a fan favorite despite having extensive knowledge of many different sports thanks to his fiery delivery style, his capacity to argue just about anyone on any sports-related topic, and his occasionally humorous forecasts. Even while these forecasts don’t always come true, they do a good job of holding the audience’s interest

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Salary

Skip receives a $5 million yearly salary from Fox Sports. When Skip’s lengthy employment with ESPN came to an end in 2016, he made the decision to leave the network. Although the news caught some followers off guard or even upset them, subsequent reports stated the split was motivated by money.

According to reports, ESPN offered to pay him up to $4 million per year to stay on staff. On the other side, Fox Sports was amenable to raising the cost. Fox reportedly was ready to give Bayless a $4 million signing bonus and a 4-year contract with a $5.5 million yearly salary when he was considering his options.

Who is Skip Bayless?

Skip Bayless, a.k.a. John Edward Bayless II, is a well-known American sports columnist, commentator, and television broadcaster. He was a well-known analyst for First Take with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN2, a program he quit in June 2016. Shannon Sharpe and Skip and Shannon: Undisputed were introduced by Bayless on Fox Sports 1 on September 6, 2016.

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Early Life

John Edward “Skip” Bayless II was born in Oklahoma City on December 4, 1951. When John was a little child, his father began calling him “Skip,” and from that point on, he seldom ever used the name John. Eventually, he obtained a legal name change to Skip. Skip considered becoming a restaurateur before entering the world of sports entertainment because he had parents who worked in the restaurant business when he was growing up.

When Skip was a senior in high school, he was chosen to write the sports section for the campus newspaper. He finally won the Grantland Rice Award, which was essentially a sportswriting scholarship, and went on to graduate from Vanderbilt University with honors.

While attending Vanderbilt, Bayless progressed to become the sports editor of the school newspaper, “The Hustler.” Near the end of his college career, Skip interned at “The Daily Oklahoman” as a sports editor.

Career

After graduating from Vanderbilt, Skip obtained a position at “The Miami Herald,” where he spent nearly two years writing sports articles. The following year, in 1976, he moved to the “Los Angeles Times,” where he built a name for his investigative reporting.

During this time, he related some of his most enduring stories about the Los Angeles Dodgers and how everyone despised Steve Garvey. In addition, he exposed Carroll Rosenbloom’s questionable decision to have the Rams start a different quarterback each week.

For his coverage of the Triple Crown champion Seattle Slew in 1977, Bayless was honored with an Eclipse Award for Outstanding Newspaper Writing. At the age of 26, Skip relocated to “The Dallas Morning News” to begin writing the sports section.

Three years later, he started making contributions to the “Dallas Times Herald“. In the middle of the 1980s, Bayless received the Texas Sportswriter of the Year award three times.

A number of novels by Skip have also been written and released. He spent 17 years working in Dallas before starting to write for the “Chicago Tribune” at the end of the 1990s. Additionally, he has had some of his work published in renowned magazines like “Sports Illustrated.”

Additionally well-known for his work in the radio industry, Bayless launched a talk radio program in Dallas in the early 1990s. He was frequently invited to appear as a guest on “The Fabulous Sports Babe,” an ESPN radio show, in the middle of the 1990s. His work on radio programs like “The Jim Rome Show” is another of his accomplishments.

Around this time, Skip’s television career also got underway with “The Sports Reporters” on ESPN. He began offering commentary for the Golf Channel near the end of the 1990s. He began appearing frequently on “The Last Word,” a Fox Sports Net program, in the early 2000s.

Around this time, he also made cameos on Fox shows including “Rome is Burning” and “The Best Damn Sports Show Period.”

By the middle of the 2000s, Skip was a full-time employee of ESPN and took part in heated debates for shows like “First Take.” In 2016, he left ESPN and got a new contract with Fox Sports. He later appeared on shows like “Skip and Shannon: Undisputed” with his former coworker Shannon Sharpe.

He became well-known at this time by insulting well-known players like Aaron Rogers, LeBron James, and many more. In addition to these TV appearances, Bayless has landed cameos in films including “Rocky Balboa.” He has appeared in ESPN movies including “Pony Excess” and “Herschel.”

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Controversy

In 2020, Skip got into serious problems after making disparaging statements about Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. In an effort to dispel the stigma associated with mental health issues and increase awareness of the illness, Prescott recently revealed his battle with depression. For some reason, Bayless made the decision to be critical of Prescott’s remarks, saying he “didn’t feel sympathy” for the quarterback.

He made it seem as though Prescott’s criticisms were unimportant, and he reminded his listeners that he was the quarterback of one of the top NFL teams in the country, suggesting that they should be content.

As further information came to light, it became clear that Dak’s brother had just killed himself as a result of the isolation brought on by Covid-19 lockdowns. In order to deal with his depression, he was also getting assistance from members of the Dallas Cowboys and his own family.

Fox Sports was forced to issue a statement stating that they “do not agree with Skip Bayless’ opinion” as a result of co-host Shannon Sharpe’s vehement disagreement with Skip’s remarks. In the weeks that followed, Bayless was compelled to retract his statements and make a formal apology.

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Other honors and awards

The Oklahoma City Wall of Fame, which recognizes outstanding former pupils of Oklahoma City public schools, inducted Bayless as a member in 2008. He was one of the five individuals honored in 2009’s inaugural class of the Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame.

He received two awards in 2012: first, a Sports Emmy nomination for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Analyst; and second, a Webby People’s Voice Award for Video Remixes/Mashups that he shared with DJ Steve Porter for Porter’s fervent defense of Tim Tebow in “All He Does Is Win.”