Whatever Happened To Former News Anchor Bryant Gumbel?

Bryant Gumbel is one of the world's most esteemed journalists, but like many other news anchors, he disappeared without a trace once retirement hit. The TV icon lives a relatively quiet life after the end of "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" in December 2023. That program earned Gumbel two Peabody Awards and over 30 Sports Emmy Awards, and its legacy cannot be understated. But its end also marked the end of a more than 50 year television career, after which Gumbel got very quiet.

While "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel" was on the air for 29 years, it is certainly not the only thing the popular journalist is known for. Gumbel became the first Black journalist hosting a news network's morning show, which he did with "Today" for 15 years beginning in 1982. Gumbel worked mostly in sports journalism prior to "Today," starting as a print reporter and then transitioning to television in 1972, as a sportscaster by KNBC-TV. Gumbel was then hired by NBC Sports in 1975.

Gumbel has hosted everything from the Primetime Emmys to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade to "Pablo Escobar: King of Cocaine," so he is nothing if not versatile. His credits also include "Games People Play" and reporting for the Super Bowl, as well as the controversial "Brain Surgery Live." After retiring, Gumbel's life seemed to become a lot more laid-back.

Not all journalists want to work until they are on their last leg of life, a la Barbara Walters, so there is no real mystery to why Bryant Gumbel decided to retire once HBO announced the cancellation of "Real Sports." He was in his mid-70s at the time, and seemingly wanted to slow down and focus on other parts of his life. Gumbel is married — to Hilary Quinlan, his second wife — and has two adult children from his first marriage. His daughter Jillian also has two kids of her own, and though he is private about his personal life, reports suggest Gumbel is a doting father and grandfather.

Shortly after his retirement announcement, Gumbel told his former "Today" co-host Jane Pauley, in a CBS News Sunday Morning interview, that he was not up for renewing his contract for three more years. "My heart wouldn't be in it. I'm OK with that. I'm at peace with it," he said. "Only a fool says never. So, I would never say never again, but I'm not actively looking for another chapter, I'm really not." In addition to spending time with his family, Gumbel told Pauley he hoped to play a lot of golf in retirement.

Gumbel still does a bit of work, giving talks on media and race at a rate of $50,000 to $75,000 per speaking engagement (per Speaking). All aspects of his career have seemingly been lucrative, since Gumbel is one of the richest "Today" show stars and has a reported net worth of $25 million.

Family has always been a topic of conversation when it comes to Bryant Gumbel, as his older brother Greg Gumbel was also a renowned sports journalist. Though Greg never reached Bryant's heights of fame, he was incredibly accomplished in his own right, particularly in relation to his work at CBS. Bryant and the rest of his family experienced a devastating loss when Greg died of cancer in late 2024. Though many sports stars and journalists have paid tribute, Bryant has kept mum regarding his grief.

A few months prior, Bryant was in the news when Katie Couric blasted his character on an episode of the podcast "Club Random." Bryant has long had a reputation for being difficult — Connie Chung revealed the truth about Bryant's unpleasant demeanor toward her, for example — and he himself told Jane Pauley on CBS News Sunday Morning he was a "cactus of the garden" (to which Pauley replied, "Yeah, you were prickly!") But there is a difference between being a diva and being sexist, and Couric exposed a taste of the latter when discussing her experiences with her one-time "Today" colleague. 

"He got mad at me because I was doing something on maternity leave," Couric said to the podcast's host, Bill Maher. "And he was giving me endless s*** for taking like a month or two off. I was having my first baby." She acknowledged Bryant seemed to be joking, " ... but it was emblematic of an incredibly sexist attitude." While Couric and Maher agreed that Bryant was a true pro in his craft, Couric could not help but refer to her former co-host as "prickly," same as Pauley.