The new-look Undisputed appears to be coming into focus. Former ESPN host Rachel Nichols is joining the panel, the Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand reported.
Nichols is set to join the show as a regular panelist alongside Skip Bayless, who found himself without a sparring partner after Shannon Sharpe stepped away. She will join a group that includes former NFL star Richard Sherman and rapper Lil Wayne as Bayless goes from debating one singular analyst to a rotating group, similar to First Take on ESPN after Max Kellerman’s move to radio in 2021.
Nichols helped launch a Showtime show last spring called “Headliners” as she moved on from her departure from ESPN in 2021. She worked for the network as an NBA sideline reporter in addition to hosting The Jump and NBA Countdown. In 2021, a leaked private phone call showed her complaining about co-worker Maria Taylor while in the NBA Bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic. She left the network a few months later and Taylor headed to NBC in 2021.
Who else could join Skip Bayless on ‘Undisputed?’
FS1 has been searching for Sharpe’s replacement for the last few months after he announced his plans to leave the show following the NBA Finals. It’s unclear where he’ll end up next, but Stephen A. Smith has made the case for the Pro Football Hall of Famer to join him on First Take.
As for Undisputed, more additions could be on the way. Sherman is already coming in, as The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand reported, and Lil Wayne — a personal friend of Bayless — is also joining the fray.
Ourand reported the network is also looking into Michael Irvin or Keyshawn Johnson to join the rotating panel. Irvin hasn’t been on the air since the lead-up to the Super Bowl in 2022 after an alleged incident involving a woman at an Arizona hotel. While he has maintained his innocence, he hasn’t appeared on NFL Network or alongside Smith on First Take since.
Johnson was one of the many personalities laid off by ESPN last month after serving as an NFL analyst and co-host of the morning radio show. The former No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick is still searching for what’s next, but his name has come up in connection with Undisputed since Sharpe’s departure.
The show will also look for an NBA-focused analyst, Ourand reported. That person will be the primary analyst debating Bayless during league’s the regular season.
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