One of the most respected NFL reporters is retiring. Longtime ESPN journalist Chris Mortensen revealed he stepped away from the network following the 2023 NFL Draft.
Mortensen, 71, said he made the decision to focus on “health, family and faith.”
Mortensen said it wasn’t a “classic retirement” and that he would “still be here talking ball.”
It’s impossible to overstate Mortensen’s impact on football media. After joining ESPN in 1991, Mortensen quickly became one of the lead NFL voices in journalism. He was a regular on the network’s most popular shows and regularly broke news.
One of his biggest scoops came in 2016, when Mortensen revealed Peyton Manning would retire. Mortensen broke the story two months after announcing he was diagnosed with throat cancer. Mortensen took time away from ESPN while undergoing treatments.
Mortensen eventually returned to ESPN and made television appearances on the network. His role was revised in 2019 so he could focus more on breaking news, per the Sports Business Journal.
Prior to joining ESPN in 1991, Mortensen wrote for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The National.
Mortensen’s announcement Tuesday was met with touching tributes from his colleagues. Fellow ESPN news breaker Adam Schefter called it an “honor” to work with Mortensen. Longtime ESPN NFL analyst Field Yates used the goat emoji in his response, implying Mortensen is the greatest of all time.
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