Tributes pour in after longtime ESPN NFL reporter dies
In a photo supplied by ESPN, Chris Mortensen appears on the set of Sunday NFL Countdown at ESPN’s studios in Bristol, Conn., on Sept. 22, 2019. Mortensen, the award-winning journalist who covered the NFL for close to four decades, including 32 as a senior analyst at ESPN, died Sunday, March 3, 2024. (ESPN via AP)AP
Chris Mortensen, an award-winning ESPN reporter who covered the NFL for more than three decades, has died, the network announced.
He was 72.
Mortensen had decreased his role in recent years after being diagnoses with throat cancer in 2016. He stepped away from ESPN in 2023 “to focus on my health, family and faith,
Affectionately known as “Mort,” he joined ESPN in 1991 and was a regular contributor to the network’s NFL shows and “SportsCenter.” One of TV’s early insiders, he regularly broke significant news for the network.
In 2016, he received the Pro Football Writers of America’s Dick McCann Award and was honored during the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s enshrinement ceremony in August that year.
“Mort was widely respected as an industry pioneer and universally beloved as a supportive, hard-working teammate,” Jimmy Pitaro, chairman of ESPN, said in a statement. “He covered the NFL with extraordinary skill and passion, and was at the top of his field for decades. He will truly be missed by colleagues and fans, and our hearts and thoughts are with his loved ones.”
Tributes poured in for Mortensen after ESPN confirmed reports of his death on Sunday. Among the first was from his ESPN colleague Adam Schefter, who is now considered the top newsbreaker in the NFL space.
“An absolutely devastating day. Mort was one of the greatest reporters in sports history, and an even better man,” he wrote on social media. “Sincerest condolences to his family, and all who knew and loved him. So many did. Mort was the very best. He will be forever missed and remembered.”
