ESPN personality and Grantland Editor-In-Chief Bill Simmons might just be the most beloved sports journalist in all the world—not to mention the most powerful. While other writers are restricted to focusing on delivering facts byway of playing things politically correct by their bosses, Simmons has always bucked the trend, going against conventional journalism by pushing his personal opinions into mainstream media. Sure, it has gotten him in trouble, at times, but what makes him so successful is the fact that he reacts and talks like a fan, not another analyst who is saying the same thing that everyone else is. For that reason, Bill Simmons has become not only influential in helping a resurgence in online, sports media, but also has racked up quite the hefty paycheck, too. But what is he really worth? Keep reading and you may be surprised.
Best known as one of the biggest Boston sports fans, Bill Simmons was born on September 25, 1969, making him a teenager during the glory years of Boston Celtics basketball during the 1980’s when the franchise won three NBA Finals—with Simmons has openly talking about being at several of the biggest games at best moments. His current net worth is $15 million thanks to his various projects and appearances that he has, including his own site, Grantland, which can be accessed from the ESPN.com, and focuses on long form journalism, branded content and in-depth stories, rather than click-through slideshows that have become popular in the past decade-plus.
As Editor-In-Chief of Grantland, Simmons writes a variety of articles, including season previews and answering questions from readers in his mailbag each week, as well as appearing on numerous podcasts—with his most popular being the B.S. Report, which has grown into another outlet for him to voice his opinion on current sports news and happenings. Getting his start thanks to a homemade website called BostonSportsGuy.com, Simmons gained the attention of ESPN in 2001, who were quick to snatch him up and add his expertise and wit to their sports coverage—mainly focusing on the NBA.
Since coming aboard the ESPN train in 2001, Simmons contributes to the behind-the-scenes series E:60, and also is credited as an executive producer of the 30 for 30 series that are documentaries on several sports and lifestyle stories made by 30 different filmmakers. Simmons is often referenced as one of the most influential figures in sports media, regularly listed on annual lists that have seen him hover anywhere between the top-3 and top-10 in recent years.
Attending the College of Holy Cross from 1988-92, Simmons earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science with a focus on the Middle East—which he occasionally references in his columns by saying his current career of sports has nothing to do with the subject matter he studied in college. Upon completing his undergraduate degree, Simmons enrolled at a Graduate student at Boston University in its Journalism Program, earning a master’s degree two years later in 1994 with a focus on print journalism.
Following his graduate degree, Simmons worked several different jobs for eight years before accepting the offer from ESPN to join their team. As one would imagine, many of these jobs were of the sports reporting variety, with the writer starting as a high school sports reporter at the Boston Herald in the fall following his graduate degree. He has joked that it mainly consisted of him mainly, “answering phones, organizing food runs and working on the Sunday football scores section.
Three years after that, he found himself at the Boston Phoenix as a freelance, but was broke within three months and started bartending to earn more money. In 1997 and unable to secure a newspaper job, Simmons worked tirelessly at earning his own column from Digital City Boston of AOL, which is where he began the site BostonSportsGuy.com while working as a bartender during the nights.
Originally only available on AOL, Simmons would forward the column to his friends to help promote his writing. He began receiving emails from people asking if he would put them on his email list to receive the stories, with the first 18 months consisting of a list of about 100 people. It wasn’t until the fall of 1998 that the site became available on the web, with Simmons’ reputation spreading throughout both Boston and other cities thanks to his more public site. In 2001, his website averaged 10,000 readers and over 45,000 hits per day—leading to him getting the attention of ESPN.
Upon starting at ESPN, Simmons was given a guest column on the former Page 2 on ESPN.com, strictly known as “The Sports Guy,” which included many of the same quirkiness and wit in his tone that he presents in his columns today. With his stories generally becoming mainstream successes, ESPN rewarded him with his own column later that year, with his work on Page 2 nearly doubling in his first 16 months on the job.
Since then, he has worked on the aforementioned 30 for 30 series and E:60 program in various roles—with him developing the concept for the former program—and, in 2012, began serving as a panelist and contributor on ESPN/ABC’s NBA coverage, offering his opinions during pregame and halftime of featured games.
In addition to his TV and online work, Simmons also wrote and published two books, with his first one entitled, “Now I Can Die In Peace,” which made the New York Times best-selling list in 2005, and served as a collection of his columns and footnotes of his leading up to the 2004 World Series title by one of his favorite teams, the Boston Red Sox, which ended an 86-year championship drought and the “Curse of the Bambino.” His second book, “The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy,” was released in 2009 and also reached the New York Times best-selling list, debuting atop the non-fiction category.
Known for several controversies—such as his latest involving statements about NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell—Simmons has found himself suspended by his employer several times, yet continues to represent his opinion without much of a filter both on social media and in broadcasts or columns.
He currently splits his time between Los Angeles and Boston with his wife Kari and their two children, Zoe and Benjamin.
Image via Getty
