ESPN Announces Max Kellerman is Leaving Stephen A. Smith’s First Take for Morning Radio Show

ESPN made it official, announcing Max Kellerman will leave First Take after five years as Stephen A. Smith’s co-host on the show.

According to the press release, Kellerman will join ESPN’s national morning radio show with Keyshawn Johnson and Jay Williams. Kellerman replaces Zubin Mehenti on the program, who missed a significant amount of time this year due to complications with diabetes.

Currently hosting a solo national radio show from 2 – 4pm EST, Kellerman makes the move to morning drive, with Keyshawn, JWill & Max airing weekdays from 6 – 10am EST. According to ESPN, Kellerman will also host a yet to be announced TV project.

The major overhaul for ESPN’s TV and radio platforms will go into effect on Sept. 7, meaning the 48-year-old’s final show on First Take will come in the next few weeks. With the reported changes, Molly Qerim will continue to moderate ESPN’s popular debate show between Smith and whoever fills Kellerman’s chair.

Kellerman took over for Skip Bayless on First Take five years ago. ESPN has not announced a new daily sparring partner for Smith on the show, but The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand reports the network will likely use a rotation of guest co-hosts to fill the void. First Take launched in 2007, with Smith being added in 2012.

On-air, the duo usually presented a strong working relationship, but Smith did lash out at his soon to be former co-host on occasion, blasting Kellerman for not being up to his standards while debating NBA topics.

It’s unclear if Smith played any role in Kellerman’s exit, but if he wanted the show’s roster to remain unchanged, ESPN likely would have obliged. In recent years, not only did Smith become First Take’s undisputed leader, but the 53-year-old former newspaper journalist has turned into the face of ESPN. Smith became the network’s highest paid on-air personality in 2019, signing a five-year, $60 million contract with Disney’s sports brand.