Shannon Sharpe dropped a cryptic update over his future on social media, warning fans to stay tuned for the ‘seeds’ that he’s planting as he ponders his next move amid a split with on-air partner, Skip Bayless, who he co-hosts Fox Sports’ ‘Undisputed’ with.
On Friday, ‘Unc’ Shay Shay’ – a three-time Super Bowl winner – shared photographs of himself in deep reflection while taking care of the plants and flowers blossoming in the backyard of his L.A. home.
‘Went out to the garden this morning. Took the time pull some weeds, making room for this season’s flowers to grow,’ shared the 55-year-old, former NFL tight end on Instagram.
‘Stay tuned for the seed I’m planting.’
On June 1, it was reported that Fox Sports and Sharpe had agreed to a buyout, putting an end to the sports analyst’s seven-year collaboration with Bayless as his debate partner on ‘Undisputed.’
FS1’s Shannon Sharpe told fans to ‘stay tuned for the seeds I’m planting’ on Instagram, Friday
Sharpe has reached a buyout agreement with Fox Sports to leave Undisputed over the summer
Days later, ex-NFL star and Fox Sports personality, Marcellus Willey, revealed that Sharpe’s ‘power struggle’ with Bayless led to his exit from one of America’s biggest sportscasters.
Sharpe has yet to speak up on his impending departure. On the latest episode of ‘Undisputed’ from June 2, he chose to remain silent on his much-rumored exit while appearing on air.
But his social media activity that day appeared to give a hint at what’s coming this summer.
‘Their relationship got progressively worse over the last 2 maybe 3 years because skip fought for him to be on that show but I feel like skip couldn’t stand Shannon succeeding without and that’s when skip was taking pot shots on air,’ read a tweet that Sharpe liked.
The New York Post cited ‘people close to Sharpe’ stating that the Pro Football Hall of Famer wanted to have more control of the show’s topic selection.
Sharpe liked a tweet suggesting that a rift with Undisputed co-host Bayless took place once
Bayless and Sharpe attending the 2016 IAVA gala at Cipriani 42nd St in November, 2016 in NYC
Bayless and Sharpe previously showed noticeable signs of friction on-air, including after a controversial tweet from Bayless following Damar Hamlin’s collapse during an NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals in January.
Bayless shared on Twitter that the NFL couldn’t postpone the contest due to issues related to scheduling, despite worries pouring in on social media on whether Hamlin had survived cardiac arrest on the field.
‘No doubt the NFL is considering postponing the rest of this game – but how? This late in the season, a game of this magnitude is crucial to the regular-season outcome … which suddenly seems so irrelevant,’ Bayless tweeted.
Sharpe was a no-show on the following day’s episode of ‘Undisputed’ but when he returned on-air just a day later, he was seemingly annoyed by Bayless’ interruptions while he was trying to share his own views on Hamlin’s health scare.
Bayless apologized for the insensitivity of his tweet but never deleted it.
‘Skip tweeted something, and although I disagreed with the tweet, and hopefully Skip will take it down,’ said Sharpe on live TV back in January, justifying his absence from ‘Undisputed’ following the Hamlin incident, before Bayless chipped in.
‘Timeout,’ Bayless said. ‘I’m not going to take it down, because I stand by what I tweeted.’
Sharpe then replied: ‘I can’t even get through a monologue without you interrupting me.
A controversial tweet from Bayless upset Sharpe on the night of Damar Hamlin’s health scare
Sharpe, second from right, is a Pro Football Hall of Famer, having won three Super Bowls
The pair also clashed in December, when Bayless took matters to a personal level by comparing Sharpe’s retirement from the NFL at 35 to Tom Brady’s at 45 years old.
Sharpe hung up his cleats after winning three Super Bowls with the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens. He’s considered as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, ranking third in tight end receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns.
Yet, his impressive resume is no match for Brady’s, though, of course, the latter played as a quarterback.
‘I did what I did!’ Sharpe told Bayless. ‘You make it seem like I was a bum! I’m in the effin’ Hall of Fame. I got three Super Bowls!’
Bayless, often outspoken, replied: ‘So what? He’s way better than you were.’
Stephen A. Smith, of ESPN, said he was ‘not surprised at all’ to learn about Sharpe’s forthcoming departure from ‘Undisputed’ and even offered his ‘brother’ a spot on the weekly rotation of former-pros-turned-analysts on his show, ‘First Take.’
Michael Irvin, Keyshawn Johnson, Ryan Clark, Dan Orlovsky, Marcus Spears and Damien Woody already appear on Smith’s primetime show.
‘I’m telling you right here: if Shannon Sharpe wanted to join that roster, there’s no resistance from Stephen A. I’ve got love for Shannon Sharpe,’ said the 55-year-old.
Smith previously worked with Bayless on ‘First Take’ from 2012 to 2016.
