Bill Simmons, who built a personal empire at ESPN and is one of America’s most influential sports personalities, will leave the media giant when his contract expires in the fall. He and the company were unable to reach an extension after months of talks.
“I’ve decided that I’m not going to renew his contract,” said John Skipper, the president of ESPN. “We’ve been talking to Bill and his agent and it was clear we weren’t going to get to the terms, so we were better off focusing on transition.”
Skipper said that the differences between the company and Simmons were “about more than money,” although he would not offer details. He added: “We’ve had an excellent run with Bill, almost 15 years. It’s been good for us and good for him. It was a decision I had to make and he had to make to move forward.”
Grantland, the sports and entertainment site run by Simmons for ESPN, will be unaffected by his departure, Skipper said.
“It long ago went from being a Bill Simmons site to one that can stand on its own,” Skipper said.
Simmons’s contract expires at the end of September. He has not yet responded to requests for comment.
The outspoken Simmons built himself into a major brand at ESPN, branching out from his base as a freewheeling columnist to host a popular weekly podcast, the B.S. Report; to create Grantland; and to play a role in the launch and success of the “30 for 30” documentary film series.
But his future at ESPN became a cause célèbre last year when the company suspended him for three weeks for calling N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell a “liar” during a podcast and effectively dared his bosses to fire him.
Simmons became a free-speech martyr during his absence, with the likes of Lena Dunham and Judd Apatow supporting him. Those who spoke out on his behalf on Twitter used the hashtag #FreeSimmons.”
Skipper said that the incident had no bearing on his decision to end ESPN’s relationship with Simmons.
Now the intrigue will begin about his next step. Simmons could join another traditional media company, like Fox, or a digital media outlet like Yahoo. Or he could use his high profile to start his own multimedia platform with investment from private equity.
