Ben Simmons, Kendall Jenner’s Ex, Signs For Five Years, $170 Million
Ben Simmons, the 6’10” point guard for the Philadelphia 76ers who is best known to some as the former boyfriend of Kendall Jenner, has committed long-term to the 76ers.
Simmons has signed a five-year, $170 million contract extension with Philadelphia, reporter Shams Charania said via Twitter on Monday. Reports weeks earlier had stated that the parties were working towards an agreement to keep the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft in Philadelphia long-term.
The Australia native, who played his single college season at Louisiana State University, has averaged 16.4 points and 7.9 assists per game through the first two years of his career, after missing his entire rookie season due to an injury. Simmons has earned 24 triple-doubles, including two in the postseason, in his career so far, per Hashtag Basketball, despite concerns about his outside shooting, as Simmons has yet to make a three-point basket in his career.
Simmons, of course, dated Jenner off and on beginning in the summer of 2018 and continuing through last spring. Jenner was often spotted at Simmons’ games during the last NBA season, to the point where fans of the 76ers petitioned for her to be banned from the arena. However, once it was clear the team was winning with Jenner in attendance, opposition diminished.
The couple was also seen around the Philadelphia area throughout the winter and spring, although Jenner stopped appearing at games around the time the playoffs started, and the word came in May that Simmons and Jenner were done. Jenner was seen on a boat on July 4 with Los Angeles Laker Kyle Kuzma, per The Inquisitr, although subsequent reporting has stated that Jenner and Kuzma are not a couple.
$170M. Five years.
Ben Simmons just got paid, per @ShamsCharania pic.twitter.com/E9W5TfLz9w
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 15, 2019
Throughout the last year, the NBA rumor mill has had Simmons eventually heading to the Los Angeles Lakers. Colin Cowherd speculated last year on his Fox Sports radio show, per USA Today, that Simmons might have wanted to follow Jenner to Los Angeles, where he would have also joined LeBron James, with whom Simmons shares an agent. The Lakers were investigated for tampering later in the year, when it was suggested that Simmons wanted to meet with then-Lakers executive Magic Johnson.
However, there was never much chance of that happening. If Simmons hadn’t agreed to an extension with Philadelphia, he would have been a restricted free agent next summer, giving the 76ers the right to match any offer from another team. But now, with Monday’s news, Simmons is officially committed to Philadelphia long term.
