ESPN personalities Suzy Kolber, Steve Young, Max Kellerman, and Keyshawn Johnson are just some of the additional prominent names caught up in ESPN’s latest round of layoffs.
Kolber, the host of Monday Night Countdown and a 27-year ESPN veteran, said Friday that she has been included in the cuts. Kolber started at ESPN as host of SportsNight on ESPN2 and, with the exception of a brief stint with Fox Sports in the late 1990s, has been there ever since.
She assumed the Monday Night Countdown hosting role after the passing on Stuart Scott in 2015. In her announcement Friday, Kolber expressed gratitude and said she was particularly proud of her longevity in an industry where that has been rare for women.
Kolber’s partner on Countdown, the former 49ers quarterback Steve Young, has also been let go. Young joined ESPN’s NFL pregame show as an analyst in 2006 and was the longest tenured panelist on the program. Kolber and Young had been mentioned repeatedly in reporting by the New York Post as likely layoff targets.
In a move that seemed likely after the cancellation of their radio show, the duo of Max Kellerman and Keyshawn Johnson have also been laid off, according to the New York Post. Johnson, who just one year ago signed a 5-year, $18 million contract with the network, will still be paid but must negotiate a release should he want to work elsewhere. The Post report speculates that Johnson could be a candidate to replace Shannon Sharpe on FS1’s Undisputed.
For Kellerman, Friday marks the end of a winding journey at ESPN. Originally brought on as a boxing analyst, Kellerman became the original host of Around the Horn when it debuted in 2002, before leaving for his own Fox Sports Net show “I, Max” in 2004.
Kellerman has hosted numerous shows for ESPN Radio, but is perhaps most known for his stint as Stephen A. Smith’s sparring partner on First Take. After being removed from that role, he began hosting This Just In during the afternoon hours. With Pat McAfee set to join the network and air his show in that time slot, it became clear that Kellerman’s time at the World Wide Leader was coming to an end.
Other prominent staffers laid off on Friday include NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay and a pair of “College Gameday” regulars — David Pollack and LaPhonso Ellis. SportsCenter anchor Ashley Brewer, who has been with ESPN since 2020, was also laid off. So too was ESPN MLB writer and “Around the Horn” contributor Joon Lee.
(New York Post 6.30)
