Stephen A. Smith Briefly Calls into Max Kellerman’s First Take Finale After Reportedly Pushing Him off the Show

Without much fanfare and devoid of his co-host Stephen A. Smith in studio, Max Kellerman signed off First Take for the final time Wednesday morning.

Last week, ESPN announced Kellerman would be leaving the show after five years as Smith’s sparring partner. Kellerman joined First Take in 2016, taking over for Skip Bayless who departed for Fox Sports. Following the Aug. 24 announcement by ESPN, Kellerman finished out his tenure on the show with guest co-hosts.

Smith’s absence was odd, considering he was reportedly the one pushing his co-host off the show. But in the final minutes of Kellerman’s last show on First Take, Smith called in to say goodbye, noting he was off the last two weeks for surgery to address sleep apnea. “This big nose of mine, if you could believe it, I actually look uglier than I normally look,” Smith said.

“All I wanted to say, was to call in and to thank my man Max for the five years,” Smith added. “Originally, when we talked it was supposed to be a three-year run and the next think you know it was a five-year run. And we’ve been number one every single year and you had an awful lot to do with that.”

“Stephen A. had a lot of say who was gonna be his partner after Skip left the show,” Kellerman noted after Smith’s brief homage. “And I was honored to have been chosen.”

If Smith selected who his co-host was going to be five years ago, he undoubtedly had say in who his co-host will be starting next week. While the decision to change First Take may not have been his alone, if Smith wanted Kellerman to stay, ESPN would have obliged.

In recent years, Smith cemented himself as the undisputed leader of First Take and the face of Disney’s sports brand. Smith became the network’s highest-paid on-air personality in 2019, signing a five-year, $60 million contract with ESPN.

Kellerman will now become the point guard for ESPN’s national morning radio show alongside Keyshawn Johnson and Jay Williams. The former First Take host will also be launching a yet-to-be-announced TV project for ESPN.

In addition to their sports commentary, Smith and Kellerman were known to speak out on important social or political issues on First Take. Before his final sign-off, Kellerman took a moment to acknowledge the important conversations he had on-air with Smith that superseded any scoreboard in sports.

“Important issues were brought up through the years,” Kellerman said. “We got to opine about and use the platform to say things we felt were important in the world of sports and when social issues intersected the world of sports and I’ll always cherish it.”

Watch above via ESPN