Max Kellerman reportedly has something ‘really cool’ dropping soon

Where in the world is Max Kellerman? According to Fox Sports NFL insider Jordan Schultz, he’s getting set to resurface soon.

It’s been more than 15 months since Kellerman was laid off by ESPN in June 2023. And since that jarring round of layoffs by ESPN that included names like Jalen Rose, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, Steve Young and Suzy Kolber, there have been no Max Kellerman sightings in sports media.

Jordan Schultz joined the latest episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast and during the interview, the NFL insider revealed the friendship he built with Kellerman during his time at ESPN, in part because their daughters went to the same school. And according to Schultz, the former First Take co-host has plans of making his sports media comeback very soon.

“We had dinner pretty recently and I asked him, ‘When are you making your next move?’ And he said, ‘I got something really cool in the mix.’ He wouldn’t tell me what it was, he said it was soon,” Schultz said on the Awful Announcing Podcast regarding his recent conversation with Kellerman.

“It sounded really dope. I swear he did not tell me what it is. But it sounded like an awesome opportunity, and one that he was super passionate about. He was on the air for so long and really, he hasn’t been for the year-plus. And I know he wants to. He’s not just sitting around. He’s been aggressive trying to find the right opportunity and I get a sense that it’s getting closer.”

Kellerman was making about $5 million annually from ESPN when they laid him off. And considering he was still under contract at that time, Kellerman has been able to continue collecting paychecks from ESPN until his deal expires later this year.  Brian Kenny joined the Awful Announcing Podcast earlier this year and said Kellerman told him he had no issue getting paid by ESPN to do nothing. Kenny similarly predicted Kellerman will emerge later this year.

We went from seeing and hearing Kellerman on ESPN almost daily for the better part of two decades, to having zero sightings of him in the last year. No interviews, no podcasts, no social media posts, no announcements.

The only time we hear about Kellerman is when Stephen A. Smith seeks to remind us he gave his former debate partner the boot from First Take. But with his ESPN contract slated to end in the coming months, and with Kenny and Schultz both teasing that he has something in the works, it seems like we’re getting closer to the return of Max Kellerman.

Check out the full episode of the Awful Announcing Podcast featuring Jordan Schultz. Subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. For more content, subscribe to AA’s YouTube page.