In the biggest sports media story of the year-to-date, ESPN has announced it will not renew the contract of Captain Blowhard, a.k.a. Bill Simmons. The New York Times’ Richard Sandomir broke the story this morning.
Simmons’ contract is up in September. ESPN and Simmons had been negotiating a contract extension, but the two sides failed to come to an agreement. The Big Lead’s Jason McIntyre says ESPN didn’t want to renew Simmons because it could not justify paying him his $6 million asking price. Not sure if that figure is correct, but it’s certainly interesting.
In an effort to control the message, ESPN was the one which released the news and borrowing a word from new Awful Announcing staffer Dan Levy, the ESPN public relations cabal quickly sent out this statement from Alleged Worldwide Leader John Skipper:
“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. 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 has had a rather tumultuous relationship during his 15 yeas with ESPN. Deadspin’s Barry Petchesky chronicles Simmons’ time with ESPN, but here are some of the highlights including suspensions:
2008 — ESPN at the last minute cancels a Simmons podcast with Presidential candidate Barack Obama citing that the network doesn’t do politics. Simmons gets his podcast with Obama years later.
2009 — Simmons is suspended from Tweeting for two weeks after trashing Boston radio station WEEI calling “deceitful scumbags.”
2010 — Simmons signs a new contract with ESPN which allows him to start a new website for long-form stories, Grantland.
June 2014 — Simmons pulls a hissy fit on NBA Countdown.
September 2014 — Simmons NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “a liar” in a podcast and challenges Alleged Worldwide Leader John Skipper to suspend him. Skipper obliges.
May 2015 — ESPN announces it will not renew Simmons’ contract.
Simmons’ influence on blogging and new media cannot be measured. After leaving the Boston Herald, Simmons started the “Boston Sports Guy” site and gained attention with his stories, links and pop culture references. It got the attention of ESPN and the network signed him to join ESPN.com and be the featured writer for its old “Page 2” section.
Eventually, he helped develop the 30 for 30 documentary series, Grantland and host podcasts. John Skipper has been one of his main allies at ESPN and there’s no doubt that Simmons’ power at the Alleged Worldwide Leader was helped by his alliance with Skipper.
However, it seems that Skipper may have tired of Simmons’ act. Now the next story in this saga is where Simmons will go. Fox is based in Los Angeles where Simmons lives. As it wants to grow Fox Sports 1 and with the recent hire of former ESPN programming exec Jamie Horowitz, there could be an opportunity.
Simmons’ name is big enough that he could start his own site and attract talent for writing, podcasts and whatever content he wants to upload. That is another option.
Or a site like Bleacher Report with the cash of Turner Sports and its parent Time Warner could give Simmons what he wants to create whatever he wants.
All this will play out in the months ahead. For a guy who began as lowly staffer in the Boston Herald sports department and set a template for bloggers in the 21st Century, Simmons can take his time, pick and choose his options and make a splash over the next phase of his career. Whether you like the polarizing Simmons or not, there’s no doubt that this story will spin the sports media cycle over the next several weeks and months.
