Ryan Smith Signs New Deal with ESPN; SportsCenter Anchor Role Expanded

ESPN has re-signed anchor and legal analyst Ryan Smith to a new, multiyear deal and has moved the Philadelphia-area native into an expanded role with SportsCenter.
As part of his new deal, Smith’s position as an anchor for SportsCenter has been expanded from a fill-in status to a permanent co-anchor of the 7 a.m. ET edition of ESPN’s signature news and information program for several days each week.
In addition, Smith is continuing his role as a legal analyst and is reporting feature stories and investigative pieces across multiple ESPN platforms, and for ABC News. He also continues as a fill-in host for other editions of SportsCenter as well as Get Up and Outside the Lines.
Smith joined ESPN fulltime in 2017 after having contributed as a legal analyst and fill-in host for Outside the Lines since he joined ABC in 2014.
Before joining ABC News, Smith served as the nightly news anchor at CNN’s Headline News, where he reported on a variety of stories including the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School and some of the most high-profile trials including those of Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman.
A graduate of Syracuse University and Columbia Law, Smith previously served as an attorney for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and practiced Sports and Entertainment Law in New York City.
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