Smith under his current deal has the right to decline any non-SportsCenter assignments ESPN offersESPN IMAGES
Since exiting "SportsCenter" in March '18, ESPN's Michael Smith has rarely been on-air and there is "no current plan for his final two years at the network," according to sources cited by Andrew Marchand of the N.Y. POST. Two years ago, Smith was one of the "franchise faces" on the net, and his current situation is a "touchy enough subject that he and ESPN declined to comment on it." Sources said that Smith's four-year contract "called for him to "specifically host 'SportsCenter.'" That means if he were "moved off it, he had the right to decline any assignments." However, it seems as if ESPN has "not given him many to decline." When "SC6" went under, it was his co-host Jemele Hill who was "left not only unscathed, but possibly stronger moving forward in her career." Hill left ESPN for The Atlantic, but Smith "stayed behind and even tried to continue as a 'SportsCenter' anchor." ESPN Exec VP & Exec Editor/Studio Production Norby Williamson by then was in charge of “SportsCenter,” and he "turned to a more traditional approach." A source said that when Smith left “SportsCenter,” ESPN did "offer him a small variety pack of NFL coverage and fill-in work on the afternoon talk shows." But Smith "did not accept" the demotion (N.Y. POST, 4/11).
