- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,195,630
- Reaction score
- 59
Adam Schefter and ESPN are nearing an extension that will keep the NFL insider at ESPN for many more years, Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reports. This is not entirely unexpected as it would be legitimately weird to see Schefter with anything except ESPN branding featured during his ubiquitous television hits. As time has gone on and the network has been divided into elite top-end talent and then everyone else, Schefter’s visibility has only increased.
And to his credit, his on-air persona has gotten better through the years. He’s shown more personality and, perhaps most importantly, has proven himself to be extremely versatile. At one point his main equity came in the form of his scoops. Those are still important but he has smartly filled out his skill set across many different platforms to the point he can quickly pivot in any direction the market dictates.
Is he sports media’s most beloved figure? That might be a stretch. One thing about being famous—that status comes with free-flowing and disparate opinions from the public. Personally, the insider role is not as valuable to me as others because I have the patience to wait that extra minute or two until everyone else follows up on the bombshell. That said, there’s a strong argument to be made that Schefter is the GOAT insider and is likely to maintain that status for decades to come.
As a thought experiment: what percentage of NFL players are more famous than Schefter? It can’t be more than 10 percent, can it? Forget what that says or doesn’t say about the state of journalism and just admit that he is a major character in the most popular American sport. That’s been true for a long, long time and will only increase in the future.
Even if his particular product is not one that you desperately desire, one has to be impressed at the career and niche he’s been able to carve out. Of all the beat reporters to rise to national prominence—across all sports—are there any that have gotten to Schefter’s level where they are just part of the framework? Argue for Adrian Wojnarowksi and Shams Charania if you must but the former has moved away from his phone and the latter simply isn’t there yet due to a shorter résumé.
In 2022 the New York Post reported that ESPN was paying Schefter around $9 million per year. One figures that will go up with the next deal. There are so few opportunities like that available and Schefter figures to have one until he chooses to hang up his text messaging habit. Whenever that happens, it’ll be tough to argue that anyone ever did like he did.
Continue reading...
And to his credit, his on-air persona has gotten better through the years. He’s shown more personality and, perhaps most importantly, has proven himself to be extremely versatile. At one point his main equity came in the form of his scoops. Those are still important but he has smartly filled out his skill set across many different platforms to the point he can quickly pivot in any direction the market dictates.
Is he sports media’s most beloved figure? That might be a stretch. One thing about being famous—that status comes with free-flowing and disparate opinions from the public. Personally, the insider role is not as valuable to me as others because I have the patience to wait that extra minute or two until everyone else follows up on the bombshell. That said, there’s a strong argument to be made that Schefter is the GOAT insider and is likely to maintain that status for decades to come.
Adam Schefter career
As a thought experiment: what percentage of NFL players are more famous than Schefter? It can’t be more than 10 percent, can it? Forget what that says or doesn’t say about the state of journalism and just admit that he is a major character in the most popular American sport. That’s been true for a long, long time and will only increase in the future.
Even if his particular product is not one that you desperately desire, one has to be impressed at the career and niche he’s been able to carve out. Of all the beat reporters to rise to national prominence—across all sports—are there any that have gotten to Schefter’s level where they are just part of the framework? Argue for Adrian Wojnarowksi and Shams Charania if you must but the former has moved away from his phone and the latter simply isn’t there yet due to a shorter résumé.
In 2022 the New York Post reported that ESPN was paying Schefter around $9 million per year. One figures that will go up with the next deal. There are so few opportunities like that available and Schefter figures to have one until he chooses to hang up his text messaging habit. Whenever that happens, it’ll be tough to argue that anyone ever did like he did.
Continue reading...
