Chris Vernon is taking his talents (at least partially) to Bill Simmons’ The Ringer. Vernon, who’s been on the Memphis radio scene for a decade and had been with 92.9 ESPN Memphis since 2012, parted ways with that station earlier this month with dueling claims about what happened. The many fans who bought “FreeVerno” t-shirts will get their wish, though, as Simmons announced Monday that Vernon will now be hosting regular college football and NBA podcasts for The Ringer:
FYI: we hired @ChrisVernonShow to host @ringer podcasts – 1 CFB + 2 NBA per week from Sep-thru-Dec, then 3 NBA per week from Jan-thru-July.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) September 19, 2016
Congrats to @ChrisVernonShow – he's a talented guy and we can't wait to start working with him.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) September 19, 2016
Vernon also tweeted that he’s staying in Memphis and has more announcements coming:
I'm staying in Memphis, more announcements to come. Best of both worlds. Thank you to everyone for reppin. Making dreams come true.
— Chris Vernon (@ChrisVernonShow) September 19, 2016
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Vernon said he will continue to live in Memphis and serve as on-air analyst for Fox Sports Tennessee’s coverage of the Grizzlies. He will also “be doing something local,” he said.
“(Expect an) announcement, I suppose, in the coming days,” Vernon said.
…Vernon will host one college football podcast and two NBA podcasts per week from September through December, according to Simmons, and three NBA podcasts per week from January through July. The NBA podcasts will cover a wide range of topics, with contributions from executives, players and media members throughout the league. The college football podcasts will examine the sport from a gambling perspective, Vernon said.
Vernon said he expects to record and post his first podcast for The Ringer by the end of the month.
A staple of the local sports talk radio scene for more than a decade, Vernon said it was important to him to remain in the city.
“That was actually the first question they asked: ‘Where do you want to live?’ And I said Memphis. And they said, ‘OK,'” Vernon said.
As per that breakup with 92.9? Here’s what they said:
Sports talk radio show host Chris Vernon has left WMFS-FM 92.9 following a breakdown in contract negotiations, Entercom vice president and general manager Dan Barron said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“We had hoped that Chris Vernon would stay with 92.9 ESPN,” Barron said in the statement. “We made a number of offers for multi-year contracts but he did not accept them and broke off negotiations. Chris is very talented and we wish him the very best.”
And here’s what Vernon tweeted in response:
My contract was up on August 31st. The first time anyone talked to me about a contract was August 30th. This is of course done so that…
— Chris Vernon (@ChrisVernonShow) September 6, 2016
the employee then has limited choices. I did not want the offer. I was then told that I had their FINAL OFFER on friday and respond by…
— Chris Vernon (@ChrisVernonShow) September 6, 2016
2pm that day. My last contract was 2 years. We hit our #1 bonus every single time. We have more advertisers than any show… And now…
— Chris Vernon (@ChrisVernonShow) September 6, 2016
I have to decide to take a deal I don't want or not work there within 48 hrs. I don't believe that is the way you treat people
— Chris Vernon (@ChrisVernonShow) September 6, 2016
I was willing (and did) turn down a massive amount of money to stay there. I said I would work another year and could figure it out…
— Chris Vernon (@ChrisVernonShow) September 6, 2016
then I was taken off the website. Scrubbed from everything, and told FINAL OFFER (again, an offer i didn't want). Is what it is
— Chris Vernon (@ChrisVernonShow) September 6, 2016
I had full confidence that my listeners and sponsors will ride with me like always have. Thank you. We will go where we are appreciated.
— Chris Vernon (@ChrisVernonShow) September 6, 2016
Vernon certainly is appreciated by many, and bringing him in looks like a smart fit for The Ringer; they’re already attracting a lot of NBA fans who like podcasts (two areas Simmons is often focused on), and Vernon’s well-known amongst many NBA fans for his show, for his willingness to have prominent NBA bloggers on, and for his work on Memphis Grizzlies’ pre- and post-game telecasts. He knows his college football and gambling, too, and should strengthen their lineup on that side; a gambling-focused college football podcast also sees like an excellent fit for The Ringer. We’ll see what else Vernon has lined up, but landing a regular Ringer podcast is certainly a good start, and it shows one advantage that site has over some older forms of media; they can bring in top writers or podcast hosts from across the country without forcing them to relocate. A Ringer gig in addition to local work looks like a pretty good situation for Vernon.
[Bill Simmons on Twitter]
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