ESPN's stance on rehiring Skip Bayless revealed ahead of 'Undisputed' co-host's FS1 exit

 ESPN has shared its stance on rehiring Skip Bayless after it was reported that the 'Undisputed' host will depart Fox Sports this summer.

Bayless was part of the hit show 'First Take' from 2007-16, as he and Stephen A. Smith became household names and popularized the show's debate format.

But as reported by Front Office Sports, ESPN is not interested in bringing Bayless back once he's a free agent.

'We are set with the current 'First Take' rotation, and wish Skip the best on his future endeavors,' an ESPN spokesperson told the site.  

On Monday, the New York Post reported that Bayless' time at Fox Sports would soon be coming to an end after an eight-year run there.

His exit at Fox Sports will come a little more than a year after his long-time co-host Shannon Sharpe left the network to join ESPN.

Since then, 'Undisputed' has featured a rotating cast of co-hosts like Keyshawn Johnson, Michael Irvin, Paul Pierce, Rachel Nichols and Michael Irvin.

However, Undisputed - which has struggled to garner strong ratings in recent years - is reportedly set to continue on air even after Bayless' departure. 

Colin Cowherd, another former ESPNer who now hosts 'The Herd' for Fox Sports, could also be a free agent soon as his contract is up next year.

Sharpe's final 'Undisputed' show was in May 2023, and it came after tension had built between him and Bayless.

One particular source of friction was Bayless' flippant tweet in the wake of Damar Hamlin's on-field cardiac arrest in early January of 2023: '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 wrote - to much criticism.

Later Bayless, would claim that Sharpe was jealous of Tom Brady during a discussion about the former NFL star quarterback.

'I felt in that moment he [Skip Bayless] had lost all respect for me, he had no respect for me,' Sharpe later said on the Stephen A. Smith Show.