Molly Qerim’s ridiculously low ESPN salary revealed reportedly before stunning exit

Molly Qerim’s abrupt departure not only from the First Take show she co-hosted with Stephen A. Smith for 10 years but the ESPN network came a big surprise. The Emmy Award winner’s real salary was likely a big reason for her exit as is being reported.

The 41-year-old Qerim’s contract was up at the end of the year and negotiations to expand her role within ESPN broke down and she decided to leave immediately. She didn’t even get to break her own news, however, which disappointed her. She wrote an emotional note she shared on Instagram after it all went down:

"To my First Take family, After much reflection, I've decided it's time to close this incredible chapter and star away from First Take. Hosting this show has been one of the great honors of my career."

Qerim was always a fit hit on the show for 10 years. | Molly Qerim/Instagram

Qerim did have her first gig hosting a Q&A with UConn Huskies men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley on October 1 where she posted her first photo and fit since leaving ESPN (see the above related link).

While an ESPN exec revealed the real reason she left from their perspective, it appears to be more of a PR spin.

Qerim’s former colleague Marcellus Wiley who co-hosted the show “SportsNation” with her on ESPN had more of the dirt, however, on his podcast “More To It”.

Stephen A. Smith, Molly Qerim, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee | Molly Qerim/Instagram

Wiley said Qerim definitely felt disrespected Smith is making $21 million a year with his new five-year contract, and other female talent on the network like Malika Andrews and Mina Kimes make in the 7-figures.

Mina Kimes reportedly is making around $1.7 million per year at ESPN. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Wiley said “Molly wasn’t getting what she wanted,” and that reportedly she’s making “around half a million dollars a year.”

Wiley would go on to say that Qerim wanted to host other shows — even her own show — but the network wasn’t having it:

“That wasn’t happening. They weren’t signing off on her doing her own show or any other show at the network,” Wiley said, before adding that “Molly finally woke up and said enough is enough.”

He’s also talk about how her relationship with Smith wasn’t great because he has the kind of pull that would’ve gotten her paid what she wanted to keep her there. Here’s the full podcast that aired in September but has gone viral recently.

Marcellus Wiley says Molly Qerim saw how Malika Andrews and Mina Kimes got paid at ESPN, and she realized the network was lowballing her—even though she's been holding down the #1 show, First Take for years and On top of that, Stephen A. Smith wasn’t going to go for bat for her pic.twitter.com/RFBTykWiau
— joebuddenclips/fanpage (@chatnigga101) September 21, 2025

Whatever went down, Qerim was clearly lowballed and underpaid at around $500k a year and decided she wasn’t going to stand for it.

Where she will end up and how much she gets remains to be seen.

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