The San Francisco Chronicle is delighted to announce that Michael Silver will be the Sporting Green’s newest columnist, focusing on the San Francisco 49ers while bringing his perspective as a journalist who has covered the league for more than three decades.
A Bay Area native, Silver is best known for his work at Sports Illustrated and as a columnist at Yahoo! Sports before he joined the NFL Network in 2013, where he earned multiple Emmy nominations for his feature contributions.
“I’m ecstatic to join forces with some of my favorite journalists and be part of a publication I’ve been devouring for decades — in the greatest region on Earth,” Silver said. “It will be a thrill to write columns alongside Scott Ostler, a living legend, and my amazingly talented friend Ann Killion, who I’ve dreamed of working with since we were competing on the 49ers beat in the early ’90s. … As a native San Franciscan, this feels like home.
“I can’t wait to get to work. It won’t be subtle.”
Adding Silver to the Sporting Green lineup expands The Chronicle’s 49ers coverage as the franchise aims to top last year’s run to the NFC Championship game.
“Mike gives us a combination of insight and his no-holds-barred approach to coverage that our readers will embrace,” Sports Editor Christina Kahrl said. “Whether hard things have to be said or great performances should get their due, Mike gives us a strength of perspective that will demand and deserve the attention of fans. The 49ers are one of the most valuable pro sports franchises on the planet, in one of the best sports markets in the world. Adding someone of Mike’s caliber reflects our awareness of that as well as the investment our readers make in the team and its players, every season.”
“It’s like joining an All-Star team, and I’m proud to be part of the juggernaut that (Editor in Chief) Emilio Garcia-Ruiz and (Sports Editor) Christina Kahrl are building,” Silver said.
Silver’s award-winning career includes a 13-year run at Sports Illustrated, where he wrote more than 70 cover stories, including coverage of 12 consecutive Super Bowls. He has also written for GQ and Rolling Stone, and authored books on Pro Football Hall of Famers Jerry Rice (“Rice”) and Kurt Warner (“All Things Possible”) as well as NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman (“Walk On The Wild Side”) and 12-time Olympic swimming medalist Natalie Coughlin (“Golden Girl”). He is also a contributor to Bally Sports national NFL coverage.
A graduate of UC Berkeley, Silver got his start in pro football coverage writing for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and Sacramento Union. In 2018, Silver was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Northern California. Silver and his wife, Leslie, have three adult children. Together, they’re longtime advocates for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and other Type 1-focused organizations.
Silver is a partner at Backstage Media, which is developing unscripted programming across numerous platforms. He also regularly interviews some of football’s most compelling personalities on his podcast, “Open Mike,” in conjunction with The Volume, a network featuring shows hosted by Colin Cowherd and Draymond Green.
About The San Francisco Chronicle
The San Francisco Chronicle (sfchronicle.com) is the largest newspaper in Northern California and the second largest on the West Coast. Acquired by the Hearst Corporation in 2000, The San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 by Charles and Michael de Young and has been awarded six Pulitzer Prizes for journalistic excellence. Follow us on Twitter at @SFChronicle.