Actually, nobody expected it. Molly Qerim spent 10 years hosting ESPN’s First Take, steering debates between Stephen A. Smith and his co-hosts. Then suddenly, she walked away. Fans assumed she’d stay until the year’s end, but she wrapped up her 19-year run with the network just last weekend.

Her exit left viewers confused, and her colleagues stunned. Even Smith admitted he felt “uncomfortable” after she left.

Now, ESPN’s President of Content, Burke Magnus, has finally opened up. And the story isn’t messy. It’s business.

Molly Qerim’s Contract Talks That Never Found Middle Ground

Magnus revealed in an interview with The Athletic that ESPN tried to keep Qerim.

He siad “Molly Qerim is a wonderful person and an unbelievable teammate and colleague.” But renewal talks hit a wall. “We tried

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