Ben Simmons Buys Stake in Pro Fishing Team As He Eyes NBA Return

Simmons has purchased a controlling ownership stake in the South Florida Sails of the Sport Fishing Championship.

Ben Simmons spent the past NBA season with the Nets and Clippers / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

As Ben Simmons hopes to work his way back onto an NBA roster, he’s turning to another sport in the meantime. According to Andscape’s Marc Spears, Simmons is the new controlling operator of the South Florida Sails of the Sport Fishing Championship.

The SFC was launched in 2021 in an effort to showcase the sport of saltwater fishing and contains 16 professional angling clubs that represent different regions from Southern Texas to New England, with plans for further expansion in the future.

“I have always believed that investing in what you love means you have a responsibility to help move it forward,” Simmons said in a statement. “Sportfishing has given me incredible experiences, and SFC is creating a platform that treats offshore fishing like the elite sport it is.”

A NEW ERA BEGINS 🚀

Three-time NBA All-Star @BenSimmons25 leads ownership group of South Florida Sails Angling Club

Read more ➡️ https://t.co/jhaADR1zEx#SportFishingChampionship #SFC #SouthFloridaSails pic.twitter.com/tl4olHqFeF

— Sport Fishing Championship (SFC) (@TheSFC_official) December 23, 2025

Simmons is an avid fisherman and joins a group of celebrity SFC owners that includes world No. 1 PGA golfer Scottie Scheffler, country music star Brian Kelley, Raiders running back Raheem Mostert, NASCAR driver Austin Dillon, LIV Golfers Talor Gooch and Harold Varner III, and NFL Hall of Famer Randy Moss. 

The No. 1 pick in the ‘16 NBA draft spent last season with the Nets and Clippers, but is currently a free agent. Brooklyn waived and bought out Simmons before he joined the Clippers on a rest-of-season deal in February. In 51 games with both teams last year, he averaged five points, 5.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 22 minutes per game. He came off the bench upon arrival in Los Angeles, averaging 2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 18 games as a Clipper.

Per Andscape, Simmons has been engaging in two-a-day basketball, strength and rehabilitation workouts six days a week in the Los Angeles-area in hopes of getting fully healthy for a return to action. The three-time All-Star hopes he is healthy enough to sign with an NBA team around the All-Star break should he continue to progress.

“I don’t believe it’s just [about] getting on a team,” Simmons told Andscape. “So, if I were to play right now, I think I’d fit right into the NBA just given what I can do. But I want to give everything I can to the game. I don’t think there’s any point in just wasting a spot just to be out there. I think that’s a little selfish. And there are guys that do it now. But that’s what it is, the business.

“For me, I’m very blessed to not have to be in that situation where I need to fight right now. But I want to get to the best of my ability and physical peak to compete. Otherwise, it doesn’t really serve me any purpose.” 

He was dealt to the Nets in 2022 after a messy breakup with the 76ers, the franchise that made him the top pick in ‘16. Each of his three All-Star seasons came with Philadelphia before he sat out of the 2021–22 season, holding out from the franchise while dealing with lingering back injuries, which hindered his availability over two-plus seasons with Brooklyn.

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