Could the Oval Office be in line for a little more ball knowledge in the years to come? Maybe it’s not the most outlandish idea, according to one report from Front Office Sports and prediction market Kalshi.
According to the platform, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, who expressed interest in a presidential bid and even teased running last week on CNN, is listed at the 4th shortest odds to become the Democratic Nominee in 2028.
With 7% listed odds according to Kalshi, a $100 bet on the man behind too many memes to name could net you $1250 in payouts if you’re so inclined to put down some cash on the longtime sports journalist and First Take host.
With that price, Smith boasts shorter odds than notable political staples like Michelle Obama and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, while holding similar odds to 2024 Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and former U.S. Secretary of Transportation and 2020 Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg. The question, however, is how earnestly Stephen A. is up for the highest office in the land.
“I can’t imagine myself ever running. The one thing that will always dissuade me from political office is having to campaign … Now if I could just get interviewed and get into office, that would be different,” Smith told Front Office Sports' Michael McCarthy during Super Bowl week in New Orleans. “But that campaign stuff would kill me because I am a straight shooter.”
If campaigning wasn’t part of the equation, however, it does seem like Smith could seriously consider the possibility of making a play to be the 48th President.
“If you tell me that I could catapult to the White House, and I could be in a position to affect millions upon millions of lives, not just in America, but the world over, yeah, that’s something that I would entertain,” he told CNBC.
Other markets taking notice … just in case
Beyond Kalshi’s relatively short odds, other oddsmakers have similarly provided eager bettors with the chance to try their luck at picking ESPN’s top personality to win the 2028 presidency outright.
bet365, which offers an extensive list of potential election winners including Oprah Winfrey, Dwayne Johnson, and Stacey Abrams among its celebrity offerings, priced Stephen A. Smith at a distant +10,000 to be sworn in at the U.S. Capitol building down the line.
Comparatively, that puts him ahead of established political figures such as Andrew Yang (+12,500) and Bernie Sanders (+20,000), and at identical prices to former V.P. Mike Pence and former Republican Nominee Mitt Romney. As for the overall legitimacy of any potential campaign, there’s certainly no shortage of skeptics.
“When it comes to sports, I find him to be really insightful. When it comes to politics, he [doesn’t] know his ass from a hole in the ground,” said Democratic strategist James Carville. “He’s running his goddamn mouth about how he may have to run as a Democrat because there’s no talent … Stephen, are you kidding me?”
Never one to back down, however, Stephen A. dismissed the criticism, calling Carville out of touch.
“You sound like one of those old curmudgeons that want things to be the way that they used to be,” Smith clapped back on his podcast last Friday. “Do you know what kind of havoc I’d wreak if I sat down for a few weeks and just buried my brain and my face and my mind into the nuances of politics and what transpires on Capitol Hill? Are y’all sure you want that smoke? You sure about that?”
