How Much Does The Market Value Bill Simmons?

Shares of the Walt Disney Co DIS were trading mostly flat on a big up day for the markets on Friday following an announcement by ESPN that it will not be renewing the contract of influential sports personality Bill Simmons. After months of talks between the two parties, they were unable to reach an agreement and Simmons will be leaving the network after nearly 15 years of service there.

Simmons is considered arguably the biggest and most influential sports media personality in the U.S.

Shares of Disney opened at $110.26, but drifted down throughout Friday morning. News of Simmons leaving the company broke around 10:20 a.m., and shares of Disney continued downward.

Shares traded recently at $109.81, up 0.5 percent on the day, and were gaining. Shares are up 16 percent year-to-date.

President’s Comments

ESPN president John Skipper praised Simmons for his contributions to ESPN, saying “We’ve had an excellent run with Bill, almost 15 years. It’s been good for us and good for him.” Skipper added that the contract disagreements between the two parties were “about more than money” and that “it was a decision I had to make and he had to make to move forward.”

More Than Money

Simmons has a history of butting heads with ESPN management. One of the most publicized incidents occurred when ESPN suspended Simmons for three weeks for calling NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a “liar” during a podcast. Simmons continued by daring ESPN to fire him for the accusation.

The suspension made Simmons a free speech martyr, as the New York Times put it, and supports took to Twitter in a massive campaign against ESPN using the hashtag #FreeSimmons.

Simmons’ Legacy

Along with his weekly podcast, the B.S. Report, Simmons created the sports entertainment site Grantland and played a pivotal role in the creation of ESPN’s award-winning “30 for 30” documentary film series.

Now that ESPN has confirmed Simmons’ departure, speculation has already begun about a possible transition to a traditional media company, such as Twenty-First Century Fox Inc FOXA, or a digital media outlet, such as Yahoo! Inc. YHOO. Simmons could also choose to use his influence to start his own multimedia platform.