Bob Iger made his return to Disney as the company’s CEO in a shocking announcement Sunday night. The Ringer’s Bill Simmons believes it’s not a coincidence Iger has returned to replace Bob Chapek after being told he wouldn’t be part of a new ownership group of the Phoenix Suns.
“I think one of the things that’s been interesting about him the last couple of years is we always heard his name floated around for different things…Would he be involved with the Phoenix Suns? That seemed to be the latest thing,” Simmons said on The Bill Simmons Podcast. “‘Oh, Iger’s got a group.’ I know — and maybe I’m reporting this — Robert Sarver, the Suns owner, said flat-out ‘I’m not selling to Iger or a group that includes Iger’ because he blamed Disney for the ESPN story that took down Sarver and led to him selling the team.
“I think once Iger realized he didn’t have a chance with the Suns, maybe that heated up the Disney thing.”
Simmons equated the return of Iger to that of an NFL quarterback he’s quite familiar with.
“There’s some Tom Brady elements to this,” Simmons said. “He leaves his dream job. Didn’t want to stay too long. He’s very wary of anyone who loves the Disney history and has read all the books. He was the guy Michael Eisner just refused to turn Disney over to for years and years, and Iger was very worried about not being that guy and stay too long, but he also wanted new challenges.”
Simmons began his podcast by calling the news one of the more seismic he’s seen.
“One of the biggest Hollywood stories of the past — I would say — eight to ten years happened tonight,” Bill Simmons said. “Bob Iger, who retired from Disney triumphantly, wrote a book, rode off into the sunset, named this handpicked successor — Bob Chapek — and a couple of years later reveals he’s returning as the CEO of Disney.”
Iger was the CEO at Disney from 2005-2020. Simmons worked at Disney-owned ESPN from 2001-2015.
