Stephen A. Smith Announces Skip Bayless' Return to 'First Take' in Part-Time Role

Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith are officially reuniting on ESPN's First Take.

Bayless will be appearing alongside Smith on First Take on the last Friday of each month, Smith announced Friday on his radio show (h/t Awful Announcing's Brandon Contes).

Smith said Bayless will also appear every Friday on Smith's radio show, which is broadcast on Sirius XM's Mad Dog Sports Radio, per Contes.

Bayless spent more than a decade on First Take before leaving ESPN for FOX Sports in 2016. He and Smith reunited for one episode of the show in May.

He spent eight years with Fox Sports before announcing the end of his show Undisputed and his time on the network in 2024.

The news Bayless is returning in a more regular role comes days after Front Office Sports' Ryan Glasspiegel and Michael McCarthy reported Bayless had filmed a reunion show with another First Take alum, Shannon Sharpe, for Sharpe's Club Shay Shay podcast.

Bayless also recently announced he is relaunching his podcast Gridiron with Aqib Talib this Friday.

ESPN announced in May First Take had averaged 517,000 viewers from January through April 2025, representing a five percent increase over the same span in 2025.

First Take later parted ways with former regulars Ryan Clark and Cam Newton in a round of layoffs earlier this summer.

Bayless is set to make his next appearance on First Take this month, per Contes. That will put the former ESPN regular on track to make his return to the show Friday, Sept. 25.