Though his contract wasn’t up until September, it appears Bill Simmons’ time at ESPN is over. According to a report by Sports Illustrated‘s Richard Deitsch, ESPN and Simmons came to an agreement that ends Simmons’ time with the company, four months before his scheduled exit. The popular columnist won’t appear on television, write for Grantland, nor continue his podcast, according to the report.

Simmons was essentially terminated earlier this month when ESPN surprisingly announced it would not negotiate a new contract with him. The reasons for the split of are of hot debate in the sports media community.

Writes Deitsch:

Simmons sent an email to Grantland staffers this week informing them that he would no longer be working for the site he founded in 2011. Simmons will also no longer do podcasts or appear on television for ESPN.

ESPN declined comment.

This was the natural conclusion to the ESPN-Simmons rift. Having a fiery Simmons working as a lame-duck employee didn’t make sense for either side (though it would have proved delicious to outside observers).

Simmons has been uncharacteristically silent since ESPN announced the split, only childishly posting Patriots Super Bowl videos on Twitter. Now that he’s reportedly freed from the network that made him famous and turned him into a millionaire, expect a break in the silence, soon.