Stephen A. Smith’s $5 Million Casualty to Make TV Return from Vacation Amid Skip Bayless’ FS1 Exit, per Media Veteran

While the NBA has taken the backseat in the off-season, the media houses have their drama in the forefront. Starting from Stephen A. Smith’s upcoming mammoth contract with ESPN to media veteran Skip Bayless’ Fox Sports 1 exit, there is endless drama brewing in the US sports media world. In that line-up, Max Kellerman, former ESPN analyst, who lost his job because of Smith’s intervention, is all set to make his return.

In late 2021, Kellerman, who was on the $5 million annual payroll of ESPN, lost his spot on the show, First Take, after Stephen A. Smith decided to change the show format. Following that, the 50-year-old analyst was pushed to the network’s Radio’s morning program with Keyshawn Johnson and Jay Williams. Eventually, he fell prey to the infamous ESPN layoff. Since Kellerman’s exit, the fans barely know the veteran’s whereabouts as he wasn’t active on social media. Nevertheless, he continued to get paid $5 million as part of the contract.

However, in the latest episode of Awful Announcing, Brian Kenny, MLB’s Network’s host, dropped a much-needed update on Kellerman. Kenny said, “He’s on ice as they say… He texted me because I reached out to him after that happened. I said, ‘That’s awful’ and he said ‘Hey look I’ll get paid for doing nothing, best job I’ve ever had’. It’s so strange, in this era of corporate layoffs that they lay you off and you just can’t work but they’ll pay you but you can’t do anything while they’re paying you, so that’s where he’s at and he will emerge. I don’t want to speak for him. I think it’s later this year, he’ll emerge .” 

While there isn’t clarity on which network Max Kellerman will return to, it’s still good news for Uncle Max fans. In the meantime, Stephen A. Smith, who faced a lot of backlash for Kellerman’s exit, is again caught up in another controversy.

Did Stephen A. Smith reject Skip Bayless’ ESPN reunion?

The latest update from the media world revealed that veteran analyst Skip Bayless might end his 9-year-long journey with Fox Sports 1 by the end of this year. Following the update, several rumors speculated that Bayless would join hands with Stephen A. Smith once again. However, the rumors were immediately crushed when ESPN put out a public statement.

It read, “We are set with the current First Take rotation, and wish Skip the best in his future endeavors”, clarifying no room for Bayless in the First Take round table. Notably, JJ Redick recently quit his job at the network to take over the LA Lakers‘ coaching job.

Nevertheless, ESPN’s move made fans wonder if Smith prompted the network to stop the Bayless reunion. But Smith lunged forward to clear the air with his explanation on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “I had no idea ESPN was gonna issue that statement. That is my day job. I’m not knocking them for that. I work for them. It’s not the other way around. They have the right to do what they want.”

Smith further stressed that Bayless’ career isn’t over and demanded respect for the 73-year-old man. Will ESPN find a way to make a Bayless-Smith reunion? Let us know in the comments.