Stephen A. Smith's staggering annual income revealed as ESPN star eyes political takeover

Stephen A. Smith's money-spinning empire will expand once again on Wednesday night when his new politicial talkshow with Sirius XM launches.

'Straight Shooter with Stephen A' sees Smith continue to position himself as a political commentator, an area where the man best known for his passionate sporting analysis is becoming more comfortable.

And no wonder given how, if nothing else, is is proving extremely lucrative for the 57-year-old.

According to a new report in The Athletic which coincides with the start of Smith's new show, the sports commentator is now raking in a whopping $40million-a-year from across three platforms.

Smith, the report states, earns a base of around $33million that touches $40m once revenue from YouTube channel and podcast is taken into account.

Back in March, Smith put pen to paper on a new five-year ESPN deal worth a staggering $105million. On top of that, the overall worth of his Sirius XM deal comes in at $36million across three years, The Athletic says.

Speaking in a debate with OutKick founder Clay Travis in New York this week, Smith joked that his life is 'really, really good' at present.

But his pivot towards political debate has seen speculation mount that he may one day make a run for the White House.

If he cares that much about his money, being the President will not appeal - he'd get paid $400,000-a-year to be in the Oval Office, as The Athletic points out.

Yet in his debate with Travis, Smith said people have repeatedly asked him to consider such a move. 

'I have no desire whatsoever to be a politician,' he said. 'But I've been asked by various people - including my pastor, including people in this business and others - to keep an open mind, because you never know what the state of affairs in this country will be in a couple of years.'

Smith's next move with Sirius deeper into the political realm is also interesting because, in increasingly partisan times, he appears very comfortable in tipping his hat to both parties.

He has often described himself as financially and economically Republican but voted for Kamala Harris at the last election.

But he has praised Trump along the way in his second term as president as well as criticizing his predecessor, Joe Biden.

As ever with Smith, words are not in short supply when it comes to his views on everyday culture. Keeping them fresh across three different platforms that are paying him serious money might be his biggest battle in the coming weeks.