After years of comments hinting at a possible presidential campaign, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith has finally revealed his plans for the 2028 election.
In an interview with Sean Hannity that debuted Tuesday, Smith clarified whether he will run for the nation’s highest office in two years. Smith has been hinting at a possible run since at least August 2022, when he told fellow ESPN personality Paul Finebaum that he would give it a try. if he thought he could wineven though he had ‘no desire to ever become a politician’.
Since then, Smith has maintained that if he were to run for office, it would be as a Democrat. Smith also told ‘The View’ in November 2024 that he would consider running for president if the American people demanded it.
“2028 is coming pretty soon,” Hannity said in the clip. “If you had to choose – I think it’s all nonsense – I don’t think you’re on the run. Am I right?”
“I don’t think I’m running either,” Smith said. ″Because I have to give up my money [and] I’m not giving up my money.”
Mediaite noted that Smith had signed a contract extension at ESPN in March 2025, earning $100 million over the next five years. In September, he also signed a new contract with Sirius XM, which will pay him $36 million over three years.
“Let me put my presidential ambitions to bed,” Smith said. “If I have to give up my money, that won’t happen.”
Smith’s declaration that he will not be a 2028 candidate comes after years of describing the conditions necessary for him to throw his hat in the ring. In April 2025, Smith claimed he did taking the possibility of a presidential election more seriously after being approached by “people on Capitol Hill,” “elected officials,” and “governors or mayors or whatever” to take on the job. Last June, Smith said that both Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna and right-wing podcaster Steve Bannon had tried to persuade him to run.
