Max Kellerman has broken his long-held silence about the rift with Stephen A. Smith that ultimately led to his exit from ESPN’s First Take, offering his most direct explanation yet during a recent appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast.
After spending considerable time away from the spotlight following his ESPN departure, Kellerman reflected on his return, the fallout from First Take, and what’s next in his career. For years, he remained largely restrained when addressing his dynamic with Smith, but this conversation marked a turning point.
Kellerman explained that the core issue between him and Smith stemmed from fundamental incompatibility. “If you’re doing a debate show and you’re a competitive person, why would you want me as a partner? That’s bad,” Kellerman said in reference to Smith.
Max Kellerman hosts the Canelo v Crawford undercard press conference at T-Mobile Arena on September 11, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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The Columbia University alum then jokingly framed going back and forth with him as a grueling daily challenge, adding, “You want to go 15 rounds every day with ‘Muhammad Kellerman?’” he asked. “That’s just bad. It’s embarrassing.”
He went further, suggesting Smith’s seeming desire to be the singular star of First Take played a significant role in the breakup. “That’s what I could tell you from my point of view,” Kellerman said.
“I also think that if you make a calculation, that if you can be perceived as a solo act, really, that you can get paid at a certain level that you can’t if you’re not a solo act, then you’d like to be a solo act, or at least perceived that way.”
Stephen A. Smith attends the 2025 Disney Upfront at Javits Center on May 13, 2025 in New York City.
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Former ESPN colleague Marcellus Wiley—who worked with Kellerman on SportsNation and has been publicly critical of Smith—echoed Kellerman’s sentiments during a recent “Hydration Situation” segment on his YouTube channel.
“I know what Stephen A. Smith felt working with Max Kellerman. I felt the same thing,” Wiley said. “I did radio with Max for six, eight years, maybe 10… Max is so smart that when you talk, if you’re not standing 10 toes down on what you’re talking about, and think about it, if you’re doing two, three, four hours of content, some of that may start getting a little bit looser from where you really have your core beliefs.”
Max Kellerman speaks onstage during Fanatics Fest NYC 2025 at Javits Center on June 22, 2025 in New York City.
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Wiley—who has also worked alongside Smith—added his belief that Smith’s discomfort with Kellerman’s analytical depth contributed to the split: “Max is a whole different animal than most players. Most people in this industry you can go toe-to-toe with, you can fluff with, you can go deep with, but when it comes to that, there’s also an ego at play.”
Smith has publicly admitted he pushed ESPN leadership to remove Kellerman from First Take, ending their entertaining yet often tense partnership in 2021. Kellerman later transitioned to Keyshawn, JWill & Max, which was canceled in 2023, leading to his departure from the network altogether.
Watch Max Kellerman’s appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast below.
