Love him or hate, Stephen A. Smith is here to stay at ESPN. At least for the next half decade, with a new $100M ESPN contract.

Smith, a former newspaper beat reporter who rose to fame by pioneering the art of the sports debate show, has agreed with ESPN on a new five-year, $100 million contract, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to CNBC. The deal was first reported by The Athletic .

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is getting a raise. Smith, a featured commentator and executive producer of the sports network’s morning sports talk show “First Take,” signed a new five-year deal with the network,