Bill Simmons' contract won't be renewed by ESPN

Bill Simmons' run at ESPN will come to an end.

Simmons, who established himself as one of ESPN's most well-known and prominent personalities, will leave the company when his contract expires in the fall.

"I decided today that we are not going to renew Bill Simmons' contract," ESPN president John Skipper said in a statement Friday morning. "We have been in negotiations and it was clear it was time to move on."

ESPN suspended Simmons for three weeks last September after a podcast discussion of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the recent Ray Rice controversy. In the podcast, Simmons used profanities and challenged ESPN to discipline him.

Simmons started at ESPN in 2001 as a columnist for ESPN.com's Page 2. Simmons since has created and is the editor of "Grantland," a sports and pop culture site run under the ESPN brand. He also hosts a popular podcast on ESPN.com, "The B.S. Report." Simmons was the driving force behind the "30 for 30" documentary film series. He also was an on-air personality for ESPN's "NBA Countdown" show.

Simmons' book, "The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy," became a New York Times best seller.

"ESPN's relationship with Bill has been mutually beneficial -- he has produced great content for us for many years and ESPN has provided him many new opportunities to spread his wings," Skipper said. "We wish Bill continued success as he plans his next chapter."

With Simmons leaving, it is unclear how his "Grantland" site will be impacted.

"ESPN remains committed to Grantland and we have a strong team in place," Skipper said.