ESPN writer blasts Shannon Sharpe's "chick on the market" analogy for Russell Wilson

Russell Wilson announced that he was signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers late on Sunday night. The signing was the topic of conversation on Monday morning and one analysis of the move is being criticized.

Shannon Sharpe said on Monday's episode of ESPN's "First Take" that the Steelers shouldn't be excited about signing the Super Bowl-winning quarterback. He then went on to compare the quarterback to a "chick on the market," meaning a single woman.

ESPN's Kimberley A. Martin took offense to Shannon Sharpe's reference that a woman being single indicates that she is the problem. She took to X to air her grievances about the issue, encouraging Sharpe to get a better analogy next time:

"Whoa whoa whoa… Just because “a chick” is “on the market” doesn’t mean something’s wrong with HER @ShannonSharpe Get a better analogy for this Russell Wilson convo @stephenasmith @MollyQerim @FirstTake"

What exactly did Shannon Sharpe say about Russell Wilson?

Shannon Sharpe's analogy of the Pittsburgh Steelers signing quarterback Russell Wilson has quickly gained him attention that he likely didn't want. The conversation between Sharpe and Stephen A. Smith began with the former NFL tight end asking Smith that if a woman is single, what does that mean:

"He's on the market. No matter how fine a chick is, no matter how many Birkin bags or Chanel purses she has, if she's on the market, what does that tell you?"

Smith for his part, looked as if he realized this analogy was taking a wrong turn. He quickly supported the decision by the Pittsburgh Steelers and called Wilson a better quarterback option:

"That tells me that somebody didn't want her. That don't mean I shouldn't!... Is he a significant upgrade to what the Steelers had last year? Yes or no?"

Sharpe's comments then took another bizarre turn as he compared the quarterback to meat:

"Bologna is an upgrade over potted meat. I don't want either one of them though!"

Shannon Sharpe apparently only wants NFL teams to trade for quarterbacks and not sign a player off the free-agency market. The Pittsburgh Steelers signed the 35-year-old quarterback to a team-friendly one-year deal, worth an estimated $1.2 million. He is still due to receive $38 million from the Denver Broncos, owed to him after his release.