ESPN’s Adam Schefter has been with the network since 2009 and has been dubbed “the most prolific NFL Insider ever” by Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. His 16 years of breaking the biggest NFL news stories has led him to a massive social following and reach on all of ESPN’s platforms, in which he’s featured from television to digital to social media.
Recently, Schefter was a guest of CNBC’s Alex Sherman on CNBC Sport and discussed a range of topics including his path at the network. In addition, he spoke about how he could potentially branch out into other sports by utilizing his skill set as an insider.
“It never came up with ESPN beyond a peripheral conversation or two, so it never really gained any traction there, but I think it would have been really cool to just be an insider for all sports,” said Schefter.
The ESPN insider said that his concept revolves around someone solely focused on big moments in the sports calendar, and not so much the week to week what he termed “mundane” stuff.
“Maybe you’re just doing NBA free agency, NFL free agency and the NFL draft and the NBA draft,” noted Schefter. “So you’re focusing on the big, important news cycles with each. I thought about this.”
Furthermore, when Adrian Wojnarowski stepped down from his post with ESPN as their lead NBA insider to take a job with St. Bonaventure, his alma mater, there was some speculation that Schefter might fill the role his former colleague left. Schefter noted that his and Wojnarowski’s contracts were aligned to end at the same time. However, because the NBA insider left earlier than expected, there was no formal discussion about filling his role.
“I actually think it’s very doable, very doable,” Schefter said of doing NBA and NFL beats together. “Woj and I talked. If Woj had waited until our contracts were up together, which we did our deals together, I would have been interested in that. He went early, so it’s not feasible.”
Moreover, with the rise in current ESPN talent and personalities branching out into their own ventures for digital media—such as Stephen A. Smith’s creation of Stright Shooter Media—Schefter was asked whether he’d be interested in doing something similar when his deal comes up with the network.
“These kinds of things come up all the time,” noted Schefter. “They’re assessed every time a deal is up. I love working at ESPN. It’s been a tremendous home for 16 years. We’ll see what happens in the future. Hopefully they’ll want me back, and hopefully the relationship will continue. But you always are assessing all those things.”
In conclusion, Schefter said he’s looking forward to continuing the work he’s doing for the network while also exploring new avenues in which his information can serve ESPN best.
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