Since the news broke about ESPN opting not to renew Bill Simmons’ contract, we’ve been wondering whether or not Simmons would continue on with the Worldwide Leader through the summer. Well, we can wonder no more – Simmons won’t be writing, podcasting, or appearing on TV for ESPN anymore according to a report from SI’s Richard Deitsch.
SI has learned that ESPN and Simmons have worked out an agreement that officially ends his tenure as a front-facing employee for ESPN. Simmons sent an email to Grantland staffers this week informing them that he would no longer be working for the site he founded in 2011. Simmons will also no longer do podcasts or appear on television for ESPN.
This isn’t exactly unexpected. It would have been incredibly awkward for Simmons to be writing for Grantland and recording the BS Report knowing that he was just playing out the string. As of this writing, ESPN still hasn’t scrubbed Simmons’ name from Grantland or banished the BS Report from their podcasts page, but you’d imagine that will be coming eventually.
The saga is just beginning for Simmons and ESPN, though. Will ESPN simply pay him to sit at home and do nothing over the next four and a half months? Is ESPN going to let him out of his contract early so he can get back to work *somewhere*? Has the courtship of Bill Simmons officially begun?
Buckle up, folks. It’s going to be an interesting summer.
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