Jalen Rose and Bill Simmons have a longstanding professional relationship dating back more than a decade. But Rose apparently never got close to an agreement to contribute to Simmons’ company The Ringer after being laid off by ESPN last year.
Rose revealed the details on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday night in response to a fan who tagged Rose and Simmons in hopes of the retired NBA guard and longtime ESPN talent joining Simmons’ audio company.
“Family always but never got an offer,” Rose wrote.
Family always but never got an offer. https://t.co/0VpLJOiID0
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) April 29, 2024
Rose launched his long-running midday ESPN Radio show Jalen & Jacoby initially as a podcast at Simmons’ Grantland. He and Simmons cohosted The Grantland Basketball Hour as a nighttime variety hoops show on ESPN, and also worked together on NBA Countdown and ESPN’s NBA Draft broadcasts.
Simmons has long praised Rose as a pioneer of the athlete-hosted media revolution that has overtaken sports in recent years. But Rose has not appeared on Simmons’ podcast since 2020.
Rose hosted the Renaissance Man podcast for the New York Post until September of last year. Currently, his primary focus appears to be his Jalen Rose Leadership Academy high school in Detroit.
As for The Ringer, the company as well as its parent Spotify have made fewer big swings in recent years when it comes to hiring hosts. Many of The Ringer’s recent additions have been in partnership with other media companies, including Puck and the WWE.
Especially considering Rose’s original cohost David Jacoby continues to cohost the Food News podcast with Juliet Litman for The Ringer, there is an obvious opening for Rose.
Still, it’s possible his relationship with Simmons has frayed, or The Ringer just doesn’t have the budget to bring Rose in at the salary he would command.
