Sports commentator Max Kellerman recently addressed his tenure at ESPN's First Take with co-host Stephen A. Smith, and hypothesized why he was asked to leave the show. For the uninitiated, Kellerman hosted First Take with Stephen A. Smith from 2016 till he was taken off the show in 2021. In August 2021, a New York Post article revealed that Smith reportedly wanted Kellerman off the show, a fact that Smith himself has admitted in the past.Max Kellerman discussed his departure from First Take when he appeared on Bill Simmons' podcast, which aired on December 2, 2025. When Simmons asked Kellerman about leaving First Take and the rotating cast of co-hosts and analysts that Stephen A. Smith used to replace him, Kellerman suggested that Smith wanted to be more of a "solo act" to earn more, saying:“That’s what I could tell you from my point of view. 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.”Kellerman further added that Smith was "the one partner I’ve ever had over the years where I didn’t feel like a relationship was really forming.” What has Stephen A. Smith said about Max Kellerman since his departure from First Take?In 2016, Max Kellerman joined Stephen A. Smith on First Take as Skip Bayless' replacement and retained his position till 2021, when he was asked to leave the show. Many believed that Smith was behind the decision to take him off the show, which the radio host and sports analyst admitted when he appeared for an interview on Hot 97 in September 2021.According to Complex, Stephen A. Smith claimed he wanted Kellerman off the show as he didn't think they had a "great partnership," adding:“The rumors are accurate in terms of me wanting him off the show. Let’s get that out the way. Yes, I did (want him off the show). It wasn’t really about asking him to be off the show, it was about the fact that I knew that we, together, as far as I was concerned, was not a great partnership anymore and that was something that needed to change.”Stephen A. Smith also said he didn't enjoy working with Max Kellerman when he appeared on The Joe Budden Podcast in 2023, saying that he was willing to take "full responsibility" for the end of their partnership on First Take. He further added that he believed the show had gone "stale" and "flatlined," continuing that he "didn’t want to go from No. 1 to No. 2. when Skip [Bayless] left."Smith revisited the split when he appeared on Cris Carter’s Fully Loaded podcast in 2024, this time laying the blame at Kellerman's feet for their "lack of chemistry" by claiming it was "more his [Kellerman's] fault than mine." However, he admitted that he was to be blamed as well as the show's leader, saying:“It was a chemistry issue and I think that people need to understand, it was mostly my fault. I’m the leader, I’m the executive producer of the show. I’m the star of the show. I wasn’t looking at Max Kellerman and saying it was his fault that the show failed."He added:"I’m talking about us…The proof is in the pudding. Look at how I’ve vibed with the people that have been there since he’s been gone. Look at how I vibed with Skip Bayless as a debate partner before he arrived.”Stephen A. Smith at the 2025 ForbesBLK Summit (Image via Getty)In October 2025, ESPN announced that Shae Cornette would replace Molly Qerim as First Take's new host alongside Stephen A. Smith. According to USA Today, Cornette's first official show aired on November 3, 2025.