Age, Biography, and Wiki
Stephen A. Smith was born on October 14, 1967. He has built a career spanning multiple decades, transitioning from a journalist to a prominent figure in sports media. Smith's biography is marked by his rise to fame, beginning as a journalist and eventually becoming a household name in television.
| Occupation | Basketball Players |
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| Date of Birth | 14 October 1967 |
| Age | 57 Years |
| Birth Place | New York City, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Libra |
| Country | U.S |
Height, Weight & Measurements
Publicly available information does not provide specific details about Stephen A. Smith's height, weight, or other body measurements.
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Dating & Relationship Status
Stephen A. Smith keeps his personal life, including his relationship status, private. There is limited public information regarding his marital status or any personal relationships.
He was raised in the Hollis section of Queens. Smith is the youngest of six children. He has four older sisters and had an older brother, Basil, who died in a car accident in 1992. He also has a half-brother on his father's side. Smith's parents were originally from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. His father managed a hardware store. Smith's maternal grandmother was white, the rest of his grandparents black. He graduated in 1986 from Thomas Edison High School in Queens.
Beginning in 1994, Smith had a position as a writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer. He began reporting on the Philadelphia 76ers as their NBA columnist, and eventually, as a general sports columnist. On August 23, 2007, the Inquirer announced that Smith would no longer be writing columns and would instead be demoted back to the position of general assignment reporter. In 2008, the Inquirer ended its relationship with Smith, which coincided with Smith starting his own blog, stephena.com. In February 2010, Smith returned to The Philadelphia Inquirer after winning an arbitrator's ruling that he was to be reinstated but having to agree to remove all of his political views from his website and from cable news shows.
On July 25, 2014, Smith made controversial remarks on First Take that women may provoke domestic abuse, in regards to the domestic violence situation involving Baltimore Ravens' running back Ray Rice and his wife. After criticism of the remarks, including comments on Twitter from ESPN reporter Michelle Beadle, Smith apologized for his words on a taped segment on ESPN. On July 29, 2014, Smith was suspended by ESPN for a week and did not appear on any of their programs again until August 6, 2014.
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2025, Stephen A. Smith's net worth is estimated to be between $70 million and $85 million. His annual salary is reportedly around $12 million, primarily from his role at ESPN. Smith's wealth is a result of his lucrative contract with ESPN, which was signed in 2021 and is valued at approximately $60 million over five years.
Career, Business, and Investments
Stephen A. Smith started his career as a journalist, working for outlets like The Philadelphia Inquirer before joining ESPN in 2003. He has expanded his media presence through roles in TV series, movies, and radio shows on Sirius/XM. His versatility and high-profile media presence have made him one of the most influential sports analysts globally.
Smith is best known for his outspoken personality and his role as the face of "First Take," a popular ESPN program. He has also made appearances in films like "Creed III" and has hosted his own podcast, "The Stephen A. Smith Show".
After attending the Fashion Institute of Technology for one year, Smith received a basketball scholarship to attend Winston-Salem State University, a historically black university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He played for the Winston-Salem State Rams men's basketball team under Hall of Fame coach Clarence Gaines. However, Smith's basketball career abruptly ended after a severe knee injury. While still on the team, Smith wrote a column for the university newspaper, The News Argus, arguing Gaines should retire due to health issues. He is a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Smith graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communication.
On April 11, 2005, Smith became the host of a weekday noon to 2 p.m. radio show on WEPN in New York City with his "right-hand man B.T. (Brandon Tierney)". On September 20, 2007, the show was shifted to the 2-4 p.m. slot, with the second hour being broadcast nationally on ESPN Radio, replacing the third hour of The Dan Patrick Show (Mike Tirico took over the first two hours). Smith's show came to an end in April 2008 as he sought to expand his career in television, and beginning May 1, Scott Van Pelt began hosting in the 3-4 p.m. hour that was previously Smith's.
In August 2005, Smith started hosting a daily hour-long show on ESPN called Quite Frankly with Stephen A. Smith. After the show was cancelled in January 2007, he mainly concentrated on basketball, serving as an NBA analyst. He also appeared on other ESPN shows, including the reality series Dream Job, as well as serving as a frequent guest (and guest host) on Pardon the Interruption, Jim Rome Is Burning, and as a participant on 1st and 10. He appeared as an anchor on the Sunday morning edition of SportsCenter. On April 17, 2009, Smith announced on his website that he would be leaving ESPN on May 1, 2009. The Los Angeles Times reported that ESPN commented that, "We decided to move in different directions." Though according to Big Lead Sports, a source says that ESPN and Smith went to the negotiating table and could not reach an agreement.
In May 2025, President Donald Trump entertained the idea of Smith running in the next election. "I love watching him. He’s got great entertainment skills, which is very important. People watch him," Trump said of him, which USA Today considered to be a source of skepticism for Smith's campaign, as the president's career also began on TV. Shortly after, Smith told CNN's Jake Tapper that if he ran, he would run as a Democrat, but expressed criticism toward the current state of the party. “If I had to run it would be as a Democrat, but I’m not happy with the Democratic Party," he stated. “It would pretty much need to be purged in order for me to assume that I would want to be associated with them.” He described himself as a fiscally conservative candidate, yet socially liberal across the board. He expressed that he believes he could win, because he would tell people one thing, that he "would be interested in serving the American people and doing what’s in the best interest of this country,” he concluded.
Social Network
Stephen A. Smith maintains a significant social media presence, though specific details about his follower count are not provided in the available sources.
In November 2009, Smith became an on-air contributor to Fox Sports Radio and broke the story of Allen Iverson's retirement on the Chris Myers–Steve Hartman afternoon show on November 25. Iverson later ended his short retirement and rejoined the Philadelphia 76ers on December 2. Smith became a Fox Sports Radio morning show host on January 4, 2010, replacing Washington, D.C.–based host Steve Czaban. On his radio program, Smith correctly predicted that LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh would all sign with the Miami Heat during 2010 free agency. In early 2011, Smith became a resident FSR NBA insider and ended his morning show.
On June 11, 2015, Smith received criticism for a comment he made about female soccer players during the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. While on SportsCenter, a replay was shown of a goal scored by Norway on a free kick against Germany. Tim Legler pointed out that the German players forming the wall turned their heads as the ball went by, and Smith joked that the players "might not have wanted to mess up their hair". Smith's comment was criticized as being sexist and a poor joke. ESPN said they spoke with Smith about the comment, and he later apologized in a series of tweets.
In 2009, Smith described himself as an independent. He describes himself as a "proud capitalist", stating "I believe in making money, and ain't no damn way I'm giving that up" in a 2025 episode of his podcast. Smith has appeared on shows such as The View, and has interviewed politicians on his YouTube channel, including Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and then House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Smith has also made remarks critical of both the Republican and Democratic parties. During an appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher, Smith announced he voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 election and that her poor performance in the race made him "feel like [a] damn fool". After President Donald Trump began criticizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and directing federal agencies to stop those practices, Smith criticized Trump's belief that DEI policies were often used to justify hiring unqualified individuals because they were minority status, explaining to Sean Hannity, "I don't want to hear DEI automatically being about people who happen to be minorities that are unqualified." In a later interview with Chris Cuomo on NewsNation, Smith called Trump's proposition to place the Gaza Strip under American administration, redevelop the land, and relocate its Palestinian population "ridiculous", saying "We shouldn't be hearing about real estate opportunities out of the mouth of the president of the United States."
Education
Stephen A. Smith attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, initially studying fashion merchandising. However, he later shifted his focus to journalism, graduating from the Fashion Institute did not complete his degree there; he instead attended and graduated from Winston-Salem State University, where he studied mass communications.
(Note: The source for Stephen A. Smith's education at Winston-Salem State University is not provided in the search results but is accurate based on general knowledge.)
