Shannon Sharpe Gives Emotional Farewell During His Final ...

Shannon Sharpe announced live on-air today that it would be his final time appearing as a host on Fox Sports 1’s hit show Shannon and Skip Undisputed.

During the episode, sports announcer Jen Hale mentioned she was “dreading” the ending of today’s show before passing it off to Sharpe to share some news with viewers. He looked directly into the camera while sharing he’d no longer be sitting across from his longtime co-host Skip Bayless after nearly a decade of being a part of some of sports TV’s most memorable debates.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is officially my last day at work,” he began. “After seven years, the train stops with Shannon Sharpe and Undisputed right here.” He then thanked Fox, his former boss, the make-up artists, wardrobe stylists, audio professionals, stage managers, security and the fans for watching.

“Skip Bayless, you fought for me. I’m here because of you. You’ve allowed me to share the stage with you. You allow me to share the platform,” the Chicago native said. “The opportunity that you gave me, to become what I became, I’m forever indebted to you. I’ll never forget what you did for me. You’ve helped me grow more than you ever know.”

After Sharpe’s almost eight-minute heartfelt speech, Bayless gave the 54-year-old his flowers, saying, “When I first took this job back in June of 2016, we had a whole other format in mind. When it came clear Shannon Sharpe is available and I said I believe he can do this, and did you ever.” He continued, “I want to thank you for dedicating yourself to this job. It is a voracious beast of a show. Day after day after day, you dedicated yourself to this job just the way you dedicated yourself to professional football Hall of Famer.

He concluded, “I want to thank you for never taking a sick day. I want to thank you for preparing as hard as you could every single day, every single topic. I want to thank you for competing as long as you competed with me because the greatest compliment I can give you is you were a worthy adversary.”

Sharpe didn’t share his next move, but his Club Shay Shay podcast boasts over 1 million YouTube subscribers. Watch the emotional farewell below: