ESPN Chooses Not to Renew Bill Simmons’ Contract

Bill Simmons, one of the most recognizable faces in sports media, will be leaving ESPN after the network decided not to renew his contract. His current contract expires at the end of September.

"I decided that I'm not going to renew Bill Simmons' contract. 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 tradition," ESPN president John Skipper told Richard Sandomir of The New York Times. "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 ahd to make and he had to make to move forward."

Skipper revealed that the contract negotiations were mainly unsuccessful due to money issues.

Simmons, 45, joined ESPN.com back in 2001. Since then, he has built a strong readership for his many columns that focused on the NFL and NBA. Simmons also had an affinity for Boston teams, which included the Celtics and Patriots.

On top of his work with the network, Simmons hosted a podcast, "The B.S. Report," and was the studio host for ESPN's NBA programming. Simmons was also involved with the 30 for 30 documentary series, which was well received and very popular.

Despite his impressive work in sports media, Simmons often spoke without a filter, which got him into trouble a few times. He was suspended by ESPN twice for criticizing other EPSN employees on his Twitter. He was also suspended for three weeks during the NFL season after he called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a liar.

Simmons' next step will be watched closely. He could join another big, traditional media network or a digital media outlet. He could also start his own platform.