Rachel Nichols will join FS1 as a regular panelist on the Skip Bayless show “Undisputed,” sources told SBJ. The former ESPN analyst will join former NFL star Richard Sherman and rap star Lil Wayne as panelists on the show starting Aug. 28. Executives overseeing the show currently are deciding between whether to have former NFL stars Michael Irvin or Keyshawn Johnson join the cast of rotating analysts. That decision could come as early as today, sources said. The network plans to add a well-known NBA-focused analyst as that league’s season gets underway, sources said.
FS1 has spent the past two months interviewing on-air personalities looking to replace Shannon Sharpe, who left the show earlier this summer. Sharpe and Bayless had been the stars of the show since it launched in 2016. FS1 has opted to bring in a rotating cast of personalities to replace Sharpe, rather than have just one foil for Bayless. Nichols has appeared on a Showtime series called “Headliners” that launched last spring. She will appear on an interview show called “The Rachel Nichols Project” on Monumental Sports Network. Nichols left ESPN in 2021, months after a private phone call was leaked where she complained that ESPN chose Maria Taylor to host “NBA Countdown” instead of her.
Sherman will appear on 50-100 shows per year, mostly during football season, according to a previous report from The N.Y. Post’s Andrew Marchand. During basketball season, a more NBA-focused panelist will appear most often, sources said. Bayless previously announced on social media that Lil Wayne will make Friday appearances on the show. Bayless and Lil Wayne are personal friends.
