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https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/596686074103083009

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.

On Bill Simmons's newest podcast, nearly all of a discussion about his suspension was removed from an interview. Simmons said that none of his remarks would have earned another suspension.

“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.

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.

Espn really has no peer and Simmons will find it hard to find a platform like ESPN cuz it does not exist. What we don't know is what Was Simmons asking for? Money is the easy part, perhaps he wanted more content or consolidation of his branding? Grantland was him, but its not his. 30/30 he was never the face of.

The networks are still big on sports. ABC/ESPN hold the NBA and TBS really only has the halftime shows.
Simmons I would gather has something cooking otherwise he'd play nice with ESPN. Should be interesting.

Nalod wrote:Its really incredible how much he put his footprint on ESPN the last few years.

Espn really has no peer and Simmons will find it hard to find a platform like ESPN cuz it does not exist. What we don't know is what Was Simmons asking for? Money is the easy part, perhaps he wanted more content or consolidation of his branding? Grantland was him, but its not his. 30/30 he was never the face of.

The networks are still big on sports. ABC/ESPN hold the NBA and TBS really only has the halftime shows.
Simmons I would gather has something cooking otherwise he'd play nice with ESPN. Should be interesting.

There was a deadspin article a couple years back which chronicled ESPN's long history of censoring and henpecking Simmon's over silly remarks and or what they deem as inappropriate humor even as he became bigger and bigger and more important to them in terms of traffic. Take the whole Roger Goodell thing and other instances where they've told the guy he cannot tweet. This is just what Ive gathered from reading bits and pieces over the years.

We just brought Isiah back to building and issued a statement denouncing Brown Saunders. The height of idiocy. We have been through more coaches and GMs then most and are somehow considered a marquee franchise. So killing the Knicks is not only easy it's necessary. Every sports caster does it.

The Giants give him a pass they beat the Pats and won two super bowls. Hard to make fun of a first glass organizations that does things the right way.

He's the best at what he does, has a huge following and I am sure was asking for the house. But, if you deserve it you should get it. Very interesting to see which network he ends up at.

I hate to say it, but I'm bummed to miss his NBA coverage and draft coverage and free agency coverage for the next two months.

http://www.si.com/more-sports/2015/05/08/bill-simmons-espn-part-ways