Smith has been candid about wanting to be the highest-paid talent at ESPN after the network signed deals with Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pat McAfee that had leapfrogged him. In June, Puck’s John Ourand reported that ESPN initially offered Smith $18 million a year and that he was seeking $25 million annually.

The months-long contract negotiations between ESPN and its most prominent studio personality, Stephen A. Smith, are reportedly nearing their conclusion, according to a report Tuesday in Variety. That report was contradicted by a notable source later in the day Tuesday: Smith himself.