Just two days before the Super Bowl, the NFL community lost one of its longtime media contributors when Chris Wesseling died after a battle with cancer.
Wesseling joined NFL Media in 2013 after previously writing for NBCSports.com and serving as a senior NFL editor for Rotoworld.com. During his near-decade long tenure with NFL.com, the 46-year-old Wesseling became one of the platform’s premier writers and a member of their Around The NFL Podcast.
Ahead of the Super Bowl, Rich Eisen paid tribute to Wesseling during Sunday morning’s edition of NFL Gameday. With his voice cracking as he said rest in peace to Wesseling, Eisen highlighted his colleague as being “genuine, sweet, nice, funny, caring – a real human.”
It’s odd to compliment someone for their ability to eulogize the deceased, but Eisen is very good in these moments. He was great when he honored Stuart Scott years ago and again when he offered a tribute to Alex Trebek last November. Obviously well-spoken as one of the best broadcasters in sports, but Eisen’s authenticity is what stands out in these moments.
Wesseling is survived by his wife Lakisha and their son Lincoln. Lakisha Wesseling is a digital content editor at NFL.com.
Brandon Contes is a former reporter for BSM, now working for Awful Announcing. You can find him on Twitter @BrandonContes or reach him by email at Brandon.Contes@gmail.com.
