He joins a growing list of celebrity owners in the SFC

 

 

 

AN NBA star has remarkably quit basketball for a career as a professional angler.

He has turned his back on the NBA after making $200 million in career earnings.

 
Brooklyn Nets v Memphis Grizzlies
Then-Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons in action during an NBA game

 
NBA: Brooklyn Nets at Houston Rockets
Simmons handles the ball in a game against the Houston Rockets

 

 

Ben Simmons ended the 2024-25 season with an 18-game run with the LA Clippers.

The 29-year-old did not join a new franchise ahead of the current campaign.

Simmons has opted to leave the NBA for a chance to go pro in fishing.

 

 

 

Instead, he purchased a controlling share in the South Florida Sails Angling Club.

The Sails are one of 16 teams competing in the Sport Fishing Championship.

South Florida will compete in the Atlantic Division.

Simmons is one of five shareholders in the Sails’ ownership group.

 

 

 

The Australian has admitted that he is taking a risk to pursue fishing over basketball.

“It’s a very niche sport,” Simmons said to Andscape. “Once you experience it and get out there and see what it’s about, you’re kind of in awe of what the sport is.

“That’s just something I’ve always been interested in in terms of the sport of fishing. The technique. And there’s so much to it that people just don’t understand.”

The SFC was founded in 2021 with teams competing across North America.

 

 

 

Simmons found his love of fishing after his family relocated to Newcastle, New South Wales, in Australia.

He is one of several keen anglers to have played in the NBA alongside White Marlin Open prize winner Michael Jordan, 62.

The point guard started his NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016, where he became a three-time NBA All-Star.

 

 

 

Simmons then moved to join the Brooklyn Nets in 2022 before a brief stint with the Clippers last season.

But Simmons has explained that he is looking forward to embracing a new challenge.

“It’s tedious and gritty, but a lot of fun. It’s one of those worlds where you just got to kind of experience it, get into it and see what it’s about.”

He joins a growing list of celebrity owners in the SFC including golf‘s Scottie Scheffler, 29, and musician Brian Kelley, 40.