ESPN president John Skipper announced on Friday morning that Bill Simmons is leaving the company.
Skipper said in a statement that negotiations between Simmons and the Worldwide Leader were ongoing but he decided not to bring back “The Sports Guy.”
“I decided today that we are not going to renew Bill Simmons’ contract. We have been in negotiations and it was clear it was time to move on,”Skipper’s statement read. “ESPN’s relationship with Bill has been mutually beneficial – he has produced great content for us for many years and ESPN has provided him many new opportunities to spread his wings. We wish Bill continued success as he plans his next chapter. ESPN remains committed to Grantland and we have a strong team in place.”
Simmons launched Grantland.com in 2011, but the site is still a division of ESPN with writers who are employed by ESPN.
Over the past few years, Simmons has been no stranger to controversy. His departure from the company has seemingly been a long time coming, especially after he was suspended for blasting Roger Goodell last season and daring ESPN to punish him for it. That was not the first time Simmons had been reprimanded, as he was also suspended from Twitter in 2013 for criticizing ESPN’s “First Take.”
Since running Grantland independently does not seem to be an option for Simmons, he could wind up with another major network like FOX Sports, which is still looking to grow the audience of its new TV network.
