“Been No. 1 for 12 years” — Stephen A. Smith said it and has had ample support for his claim of $100 million from ESPN. While Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson have been among the ones, yet another voice came from their All The Smoke podcast. Advocating for the 57-year-old ESPN analyst was another face from the ESPN itself—Kendrick Perkins.

Perkins started his opinion by highlighting how Smith’s been the one guy that he leans on. Someone who gives him a lot of insight and guidance on how things are in the sports media. He then recalled something Smith had said about 2 years back. And Perkins told SAS he should not have gone with the reply he did.

“He (Smith) said, ‘I wake up every morning and I try to figure out ways, bring my bosses to get my bosses paid. And then I try to find a way to get some of it…'” Perkins said on All the Smoke. Further points that Perk raised about SAS would make it clear why his $100 million demand from ESPN makes sense.

The ex-Celtics star highlighted Smith takes a lot of criticism and living in a world today where drama is gonna sell anyway, SAS’s impact is obvious. “He’s bringing in billions of dollars for the network.” And as per Kendrick Perkins, Stephen told him all that the 57-year-old wants is to find a way to get something of it.

Seems a reasonable desire, doesn’t it? And it’s not as if the network does not recognize SAS’s worth to them. In fact, as per a report by The Puck’s John Ourand, ESPN already offered a 5-year, $90 million to the Smiths. But SAS reportedly rejected the deal as he evaluated his worth to be higher than this.

And Smith himself justified this desire during an interview with CNN’s Chris Wallace. He drew comparisons with what other sports figures like Dak Prescott are getting paid and emphasized, “I’ve been No. 1 for 12 years… I’m fully aware of what I’m worth, and I will never apologize for that.” No wonder that many from the sports community have backed SAS in his claim.

Not only Perkins, but Matt Barnes supports Smith’s demand too

The demand, as detailed by The US Sun, raised concerns among some journalists who fear the repercussions for others on the network. They believe Smith’s firm stance could compel ESPN to agree. But it will potentially impact budgets and lead to layoffs. The situation even led to Stephen being dubbed “Mr. Greedy” by certain network insiders, as reported by The US Sun. Barnes, however, sees a broader benefit in Smith’s pursuit.

The former NBA star believes it would be a win for everyone in the game. He pointed out to Front Office Sports that Smith landing a deal of this magnitude would be “incredible”. Imagine what it could mean for the industry if personalities start commanding this level of compensation.

Barnes shared on his podcast that when he first congratulated Smith on the reported $90 million deal that ESPN initially offered, Smith’s refusal hinted at something more ambitious in the works. Barnes understood that ESPN would need to open its wallet even wider. As Barnes puts it, bigger deals for the stars mean more opportunities for everyone. With Kendrick Perkins’ views justifying the demand, we now wait to see when the final deal will come together.