Same here. And for me it called into question his judgment on the issue. You just don't do that, and it will come back to bite him.
I think Crowder has a point, but so do those who have rebutted him. I go back and forth on this. Andrew Klavan gave a very calm and sensible response to Crowder on his podcast, and after listening to it, my opinion shifted a little.
I do wonder if this isn't part of Crowder's own business model--to create a kerfuffle and pick up some of Daily Wire's subscribers in the process.
Ben Shapiro had a good presentation of the timeline of events. (12 minutes long and a must-see:) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuEHQwgHKjI
The DW offer of $12.5 million/year was presented to Crowder in early October, Crowder replied in early November with a $30 million/year counter, and DW declined any further negotiations.
Four months pass with nothing happening, then Crowder registers the website StopBigCon.com on December 12th. Crowder announced he was leaving The Blaze on December 15th, and recorded the conversation with Jeremy on January 9th.
It's looking more and more to me like Crowder is trying to launch his own company and wants to bring on other talent, and he manufactured this "controversy" as publicity for that endeavor.