The San Francisco Chronicle is pleased to announce that Michael Silver will be Sporting Green’s newest column to focus 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 joining the NFL Network in 2013, where he received multiple Emmy nominations for his feature contributions.
“I’m thrilled to be collaborating with some of my favorite journalists and to be part of a publication I’ve devoured for decades – in the most amazing region on earth,” said Silver. “It’s going to be a thrill to write columns with living legend Scott Ostler and my incredibly talented friend Ann Killion, who I’ve dreamed of collaborating with since we first competed in the 49ers beat in the early ’90s. … As a native of San Francisco, you feel right at home here.
“I can’t wait to get to work. It won’t be subtle.”
The addition of 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 offers us a combination of insight and his no-holds-barred approach to reporting that our readers will embrace,” said sports editor Christina Kahrl. “Whether hard things need to be said or great performances need their share, Mike gives us a powerful perspective that demands and deserves fans’ attention. The 49ers are one of the most valuable professional sports franchises in the world in one of the best sports markets in the world. Adding someone of Mike’s caliber reflects our awareness of it and the investment our readers make in the team and its players each season.”
“It’s like joining an all-star team, and I’m proud to be a part of the juggernaut that (Editor-in-Chief) Emilio Garcia-Ruiz and (Sports Editor) Christina Kahrl are building,” said Silver.
Silver’s award-winning career includes a 13-year streak 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 books about Pro Football Hall of Famers Jerry Rice (“Rice”) and Kurt Warner (“All Things Possible”) and NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman (“Walk On The Wild Side ‘) and 12-time Olympic swimming medalist Natalie Coughlin (‘Golden Girl’). He also contributes to Bally Sports’ national NFL coverage.
A UC Berkeley graduate, Silver began professional football reporting, writing for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and the Sacramento Union. In 2018, Silver was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Northern California. Silver and his wife Leslie have three grown children. Together, they are longtime advocates for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and other organizations focused on type 1.
Silver is a partner at Backstage Media, which develops unscripted programs for multiple platforms. He also regularly interviews some of football’s most compelling personalities on his Open Mike podcast in association with The Volume, a network with 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 by Charles and Michael de Young in 1865 and has won six Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism. Follow us on Twitter at @SFChronicle.
