Stephen A. Smith threatened to walk away from $12 million while orchestrating Max Kellerman's exit from ESPN's 'First Take'

Stephen A. Smith is the face of basketball on ESPN. The outspoken analyst is the featured panelist on the company's flagship show, First Take. He has now opened up on his role in Max Kellerman's exit from the show.

Smith has been with the show since its inception and has helped grow it into the biggest sports debate show in the world. First Take consistently grows in ratings, but tough decisions must be made when operating at such a high level.

During a recent episode of "The Joe Budden Podcast," Smith discussed what led to Kellerman getting re-assigned from the show and how he had a hand in that. Smith noted how he offered to walk away from First Take and his $12 million contract if ESPN wanted to keep Kellerman on the show.

"It wasn't going this way (points up)," Smith said. "It was just there... I had mad respect for him from the standpoint of white dude, highly intelligent, Ivy League-educated from Columbia. Smart as a whip.

"Can talk his ass off. Can talk about anything. I get all that. But you weren't an athlete, and you weren't a journalist. And the absence of the two components left people wondering 'why should we listen to you?'"

Smith detailed that a change needed to be made. As such, the ESPN anchor took his concerns to the upper management and offered to leave First Take if they wanted to keep Kellerman.

"I didn't have the authority to let him go. ... I said 'look, if he's that important to you, give him First Take, I'll leave.'

"Two hours later, I got the call, 'we're making a change.' But it wasn't a firing, because what happened was, 'you got your own radio show, and got your own afternoon show.'"

Since then, Stephen A. Smith has worked with many new panelists, including Kendrick Perkins, JJ Redick, and most recently, Shannon Sharpe. Smith is also vocal about the success of First Take and how it continues to be a leading show on the ESPN network.

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Stephen A. Smith recalls ESPN firing him

During the podcast episode with Joe Budden, Stephen A. Smith also noted how Kellerman was not fired.

Instead, ESPN redistributed Kellerman to his own show and radio show. Smith also recalled when he was fired from ESPN in 2009.

"It wasn't a firing. Ultimately, you got your own radio show, and you got your own afternoon show. When we talk about firing, I'll go back to when I got let go in 2009.

"'Stephen A, your services are no longer required, we're not renewing your deal.' Just like that, the next month when my contract expired...we will not be needing your services any longer, and I was unemployed."

Kellerman is still with ESPN and has a presence on multiple shows, both television and radio.

However, it's clear that his time on First Take had run its course, and Stephen A. Smith was eager to see his show continue growing in the ratings and make it one of the biggest sports shows on the planet.