On April 30, 2012, it was announced on-air that regular guest contributor Stephen A. Smith would be joining First Take on a permanent, five-day-per-week basis.

On occasions he was reporting from elsewhere, Rob Parker was frequently featured as his replacement until December 20, 2012, when he was suspended for comments made about Robert Griffin III;[4][5] he would not return, as ESPN allowed his contract to expire, rather than re-sign him.

[7] On July 23, 2012, the show debuted a new set and a new opening song Every Word Great by Wale featuring Stalley.

In line with these changes, First Take introduced on October 1, 2012 a new permanent moderator, Cari Champion, previously a reporter from the Tennis Channel.

In 2021, Kellerman left First Take to allow for a new format involving rotating guest analysts appearing alongside Smith.

"[17] Through the show's success, First Take has experienced substantial controversy and faced increasing criticism, mostly concerning perceived sensationalism.

Among claims have been that First Take has used hot button racial issues to create inflammatory debates and increase ratings.

During his tenure with the Jets, in which he did not start in a game, and threw just eight passes the entire season, Tebow was nonetheless often a leading topic.

[24] In February 2016, Stephen A. Smith, as well as ESPN, Little League Baseball, and Chris Janes, were sued by the parents of players from the Jackie Robinson West baseball team, whose 2014 Little League World Series title was vacated after Janes found the team had used ineligible players from outside a defined regional boundary.

The lawsuit contained an allegation that Smith had made a defamatory remark regarding the controversy on First Take, which "directly accused the JRW parents of perpetrating a fraud against the Little League".

[25][26] During the 2021 Major League Baseball season, host Stephen A. Smith's comments regarding Japanese All-Star Shohei Ohtani garnered controversy.

But the fact that you've got a foreign player that doesn't speak English, that needs an interpreter—believe it or not, I think contributes to harming the game to some degree, when that's your box office appeal.

But when you talk about an audience gravitating to the tube, or to the ballpark, to actually watch you, I don't think it helps that the number one face is a dude that needs an interpreter so that you can understand what the hell he's saying in this country.

"[27] Smith's comments were met with backlash on social media, with many feeling such statements were insensitive and offensive to the Asian community.