Total Pro Sports
After more than two decades on the air, Around The Horn will sign off for the final time this Friday. Since 2002, the fast-paced sports debate show held down ESPN’s 5 p.m. ET slot, but now, for the first time in 22 years, the network has to figure out what comes next. That next move? Still very much up in the air.
Sources close to the situation say ESPN didn’t lock in a replacement before pulling the plug. According to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, one of the more ambitious ideas included giving Shannon Sharpe a new show as part of a larger project with Stephen A. Smith. But those talks stalled well before Sharpe stepped away from ESPN last month in the wake of a civil rape lawsuit filed against him in Nevada.
In April, a woman accused Sharpe of rape and physical abuse in a $50 million lawsuit. Sharpe denied the allegations, calling them an extortion attempt. TMZ later released audio of Sharpe during an argument threatening to “choke the s**t” out of the woman, telling her she didn’t “have a choice in the matter.” His legal team released text messages suggesting what they called a consensual dominant-submissive dynamic. Sharpe’s lawyer, Lanny Davis, said they had been in settlement talks before the lawsuit was filed.
The woman accusing #ShannonSharpe of r*pe has now released audio of a conversation she says she had with him … and in it, Sharpe can be heard telling her he's "going to f***ing choke the s*** out" of her. Read the full #exclusive story: https://t.co/SFHeYGx3rF pic.twitter.com/Hj9lh3Xe8R
— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) April 22, 2025
Sharpe remained on First Take in the days after the lawsuit but announced a temporary hiatus on April 24. The NFL expects him to return for the preseason, but he has put any plans for a new daily show on hold, at best.
Stephen A. Smith, who recently signed a massive $100 million deal with ESPN in March, had reportedly been floated as a possible fit for the 5 p.m. slot. However, Marchand noted that the new deal didn’t include a commitment for that time.
Another option ESPN considered was doubling the length of Pardon the Interruption, giving Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser a full hour. But at 66 and 76 years old, respectively, the longtime hosts may not be the long-term solution ESPN wants in that spot.
More recently, Marchand reported that Peter Schrager, who recently joined the network, has emerged as a candidate for a daily show either at 5 p.m. or 2 p.m. As of now, ESPN has not confirmed any plans, and with Around The Horn wrapping up this week, the future of that hour remains wide open.
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